Democrat Stephen Smith Wins the General Election

In a decisive victory, Stephen Smith was elected State Representative on Tuesday by more than 1900 votes. While many had predicted a much closer race, given the level of support provided to Joseph Hickey by the Hanlon Administration, the Ward 3 Alderman received 60% of the vote, winning in every ward and precinct in the city.

It’s been a long, tough haul for Smith, who ran against the late Edward Connolly in 2004, and lost by only 56 votes. Smith simply never stopped campaigning; he knocked on doors and worked the phones throughout the ensuing two years. His hard work paid off.

Congratulations to Representative-elect Smith on this resounding victory!

One also has to wonder what the Hanlon Administration could be thinking this morning. In a rarely used power-play against his own party, Democrat Mayor John Hanlon had key staffers, including his budget director, Janice Vetrano, auditing "contractor," Bev Dorman, and the Keohane’s at the polls for unenrolled candidate Joe Hickey. Most mayors will stay out of a state rep. race, preferring not to get involved. They understand that they will be working with the victor on state and local issues – no matter who it is. Additionally, it was also an odd strategy that the Hanlons employed; rather than working to get people to vote for their candidate, they actually worked to suppress the vote, and openly challenged the right to vote of many people at the polls. This may have had a negative effect on the Hickey vote, as people learned about the various challenges while waiting in line.

One also has to wonder what Mayor Hanlon plans to do next, now that he’s burned some very serious bridges with the legislative leadership at the State House. Hanlon has now seriously isolated himself from the very people who make decisions about local aid to cities and towns. Mayor Hanlon better hope that new state representative, Stephen Smith, can persuade Speaker of the House, DiMasi and others to “forgive and forget, ” or the taxpayers of this city will be paying for these huge political missteps.