Tonight the candidates in the mayor’s race will be hunkering down with supporters, waiting for vote results to trickle in from City Hall and preparing either a victory speech, a concession speech, or — if you’re city councilor and mayoral candidate Charles Yancey — possibly both.
Often on election night, news reporters and political junkies struggle with the dilemma of where to be when you can’t be in two places at once. The party of the winning candidate? The candidate representing your community? The candidate most likely to provide an open bar?
This year’s 12-way contest for the mayor’s seat won’t make things any easier. With at least 10 parties spread from the outer reaches of West Roxbury to the South Boston waterfront, party crashers will have to be strategic.
Starting with the hinterlands, City Councilor Rob Consalvo will have his party at the West Roxbury Elks Lodge at 1 Morrell St., a mere 300 yards from the Dedham/Boston line. It’s not Consalvo’s Hyde Park home base, but it’s deep in voter-rich Ward 20, one of the most hotly contested areas in the city.
State Rep. Marty Walsh’s party is deep in his Dorchester base at Venecia Waterfront Restaurant in a hidden corner of Neponset, east of Interstate 93, hard by Quincy. If you’re heading there, you’re there for the evening.
At large City Councilor Felix Arroyo’s campaign will gather in the heart of his liberal-voting, multi-ethnic base in Jamaica Plain’s Ward 11 at Coco’s Lounge, 3171 Washington St.
Former Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative head John Barros will party with supporters at Restaurante Cesaria, the eatery he co-founded at 266 Bowdoin St. in Dorchester.
At large Councilor John Connolly is bypassing his West Roxbury voter base, hosting his party at Hibernian Hall in the heart of Dudley Square, a move that underscores the potential importance of the black vote in November mayoral election.
Former state Rep. Charlotte Golar Richie’s election night party is at the Fairmont Copley Hotel. Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley will be at the Seaport Hotel in the South Boston waterfront area.
Bill Walczak’s party will be held at the Savin Bar and Kitchen, steps from his Savin Hill home. Charles Yancey will host supporters of his simultaneous mayoral and city council bids at his campaign office at 2201 Washington St. in Dudley Square.
A call to the number listed on radio station operator Charles Clemmons’ website netted an automated “subscriber not in service” message. David James Wyatt did not respond to the Banner’s inquiry.
