District 6: Hennigan seeks to draw contrast to "political insider" O'Malley

WEST ROXBURY — The good news for Jim Hennigan was that he made the top two in Tuesday's preliminary election to fill the District 6 City Council seat.

The bad news is that his Nov. 16 opponent, Matt O'Malley, won 53 percent of the vote to Hennigan's 30 percent.

Hennigan vowed to fight hard in the next four weeks to achieve victory. He told dozens of supporters and family who had gathered at West on Centre for a post-election party that momentum was on their side.

"I feel very energized tonight," he said in a later interview. "My job over the next four weeks is to convince voters that I am the candidate of the neighborhoods.

The Hennigan family has a long history in Boston politics. On hand for Tuesday's party were Jim Hennigan's sister, former City Councilor Maura Hennigan, and their 83-year-old father, Jim Hennigan Jr., who served as a state representative and state senator.

"We're going to win this fight," the elder Hennigan told the crowd. "This campaign is just starting. This electon isn't going to be won by indifference, or manipulation. We're going to get the public interested. Here we come. And we're going to win."

To do that, the Hennigan campaign will have to reverse the order of finish from Tuesday.

O'Malley took home 53 percent of the vote (3,827 votes), while Hennigan took 30 percent of the vote (2196 votes), according to unofficial election results on the Boston's Elections Department site. 

The two will face each other in a Nov. 16th final election to determine who will be the next city councilor for Jamaica Plain. The seat also represents WestRoxbury, and a little bit of Roslindale and Mission Hill.

Sean Ryan finished third with 8 percent (611 votes); then came Kosta Demos with 4 percent (349 votes); and Chun-Fai Chan finished fifth with 2 percent (196 votes).

In Jamaica Plain, O'Malley took 1,657 votes and Hennigan had 577. In West Roxbury, O'Malley had 2,070 votes to Hennigan's 1,468, according to unofficial results.

With the race down to two people, Hennigan sought to contrast himself with O'Malley. Despite his deep roots in an established political family, Hennigan sought to portray himself as the outsider between the two.

"There are two candidates with distinct differences," he said. "One candidate is a political operative. The other canidate is a person from the neighborhoods. If people want the political insider they probably are not going to look to me."

Hennigan, an insurance agent, grew up in JP and lives in West Roxbury. O'Malley's experience includes being executive director for MassEquality. He grew up in the Parkway and lives in JP.

Ryan, who came in third on Tuesday, gave Hennigan a boost by announcing he would endorse Hennigan.

"Sean called to let me know he'll be telling the Globe that he endorses my candidacy and that he'll work hard to ensure that I'll be elected four weeks from now," Hennigan told the crowd.

Hennigan supporters who attended the party included City Councilors At-Large Felix G. Arroyo and Stephen Murphy.