A tip of the toupee to the Globe's Andrew Ryan for a detailed recap of situation and players. The lead and one punchline is that half of those who pulled nomination papers seem to have gotten the 1,500 valid sigs to get on the ballot (we'll know for sure in a couple of days after certification) and that nine instead of the seven would have triggered a preliminary to winnow the field to eight. The final will result in the top four winning.
The consensus big players all qualified and remain:
- Steve Murphy, Council President and member since 1997
- John Connolly, finishing his second term
- Ayanna Pressley, first-termer
- Felix Arroyo, first-termer
- Michael Flaherty, former at-large Councilor and body President
The other two challengers so far seem to be:
- Sean Ryan, who has run before
- Will Dorcena, short-term known best as brother of MA Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry
Getting on ballot immediately speaks well of their organizational skills. A preliminary would have been a plus to the lesser known candidates, as well as the fine-tuning possibilities listed in the Globe piece (the other punchline).
Amusingly for me, Sean Ryan is ubiquitous, as he has been before this race. He attends public meetings, hearings, political announcements and more. He makes himself well known and is always eager to discuss his positions or yours. For some background, see the post on him when he ran for Council two years ago.
I'll have to get to know Dorcena. At LA, we had discounted lining up 14 candidates. I think grabbing two more is reasonable.
For the five horsemen of the great choosing, we're getting an early start at Left Ahead.
| Candidate | Podcast | URL |
| Flaherty | 5/17 - online | bit.ly/lnyaIB |
| Connolly | 5/24 - online | bit.ly/m156bq |
| Arroyo | 6/7 at 2:30 PM | bit.ly/mw1OQT |
| Murphy | 6/9 at 2:30 PM | bit.ly/kBXpUD |
| Pressley | 6/14 at noon | bit.ly/iATj9y |
For those who have spoken with us, a post on the podcast and the show in a player for download is at that URL at Left Ahead. These are also available at our BlogTalkRadio site or on iTunes.
The links for the upcoming shows are to the live stream URLs. If you can't catch those shows at those times, you can use that URL, Left Ahead or iTunes afterward for an on-demand play or download.
Clearly I am excited by the at-large race. With no national, statewide or mayoral contests on the ballot in Boston, this is our political highlight this season. I'll be hitting every debate or forum I can. With only seven in the race, these shouldn't be beauty pageants nor quip skirmishes. Issues big and small should be in the air.
It will be a feast for gourmets and gourmands of democracy and rhetoric. Partake.
Tags: massmarrier, Boston, City Council, Left Ahead, at-large, elections, podcasts
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