Polls close at 8 pm in City Council preliminary election; turnout low so far

A low voter turnout was expected for today's Boston City Council District 6 special election, and those expectations were met across the district. But of course that wasn't going to stop the candidates and their families from hitting up polling sites.

Voters are today whittling five candidates down to two. Those two will face each other Nov. 16 to decide who will replace former City Councilor John Tobin. The District is made up mostly of JP and West Roxbury.

Voter turnout appeared dismal at JP polling sites. Only 40 voters had come through Ward 11, Precinct 8 by 12:30 pm. Other precincts also reported total voters in the 40-50 range in the early afternoon.

In the West Roxbury half of the district, candidate Jim Hennigan was rotating with his wife, Jude, at the Holy Name School polling site and St. George's.

At Holy Name, Jim Hennigan said that he's gotten great feedback and "many, many people say they're voting for me."

Inside Holy Name a poll worker said they hoped to hit 200 ballots cast by the end of the day in Ward 20, Precinct 20. For the Sept. 14 election, 600 votes were cast.

Outside of the school, Jim Hennigan greeted voter Sean Joyce, who later said he was voting for Matt O'Malley, "I've known the kid for a while. He's strong and energetic. The council needs some new blood."

Jim Hennigan comes from a political family that includes his sister, Maura Hennigan and his father, Jim Hennigan Jr. JP's Hennigan School is named for the grandfather of Jim and Maura Hennigan.

Jim Hennigan Jr., 83, turned up outside the polls at English High School to ask folks to consider voting for his son. He is a former state representative and state senator, among other offices held.

"Our family has never lost a district councilor race," said the elder Hennigan.

Meanwhile, Maura Hennigan could be found at the polls inside the Agassiz School.

For 18 years, Maura Hennigan represented City Council District 6. She then became an at-large councilor for six years before making an unsuccessful challenge to Mayor Tom Menino.

She pointed out that family has never lost a district councilor race because she never lost a district councilor race. She also had praise for her brother, who she said stayed out of City Council politics to give her a shot first.

"He was a feminist before it was fashionable," she said.

In West Roxbury at the Roche Family Community Center there were none of the customary sign holders around 1 p.m. In fact, there was only a lone golden retriever, Lilly, who was sitting outside of the center.

Like Jim Hennigan, candidate Sean Ryan said that he feels many voters left their house knowing whom they were going to vote for.

Outside of West Roxbury's Lyndon Pilot School, Ryan approached Theresa McIrney for her vote, as he handed out a postcard to support him.

Said McIrney, "I came out to vote because it's a special election. No more John Tobin. It's probably Sean Ryan (for me) because he was so nice to me the other day when he knocked on my door. And he made an impression on my 22-year-old daughter, which is hard to do."

After she walked away, Ryan added, "It's gratifying to see people on Election Day who already know me and recognize me from door knocking." But he said he didn't have a large enough sample size to determine how well he was doing around 2 p.m.

Up at West Roxbury's St. George Church, Jim Hennigan had switched with his wife, and was greeting voters at the same time candidate Chun-Fai Chan was.

Chan said he started his day at the church, "I'm letting them know that I'm a schoolteacher and I want their vote… The schools are the number one issue in West Roxbury and we need to provide quality schools to everyone in Boston."

The West Roxbury Library was one of the busier voting locations in West Roxbury, but possibly because people were coming to use the library, and not just vote. Candidate Matt O'Malley was greeting people with State Treasurer candidate Steve Grossman.

Said Grossman, "I want to stand with him in the winner's circle tonight. I want him to be in the winner's circle with me in two weeks - and then in the winner's circle again with him on Nov. 6.

O'Malley previously worked as the statewide field coordinator for Grossman's campaign.

O'Malley said he planned to be at the library most of the day to greet voters. When asked about how he felt, O'Malley said, "Excellent. I'm feeling nervous, excited, anxious and positive."

Voting ends at 8 p.m. to determine the two finalists for a Nov. 16 final election to determine who will be the next District 6 Boston City Councilor.