Pressley victory speech by Mike Deehan/Dorchester Reporter.
Ayanna Pressley, the first-term incumbent whom many thought was most vulnerable to defeat this year, topped the field of candidates for one of four at-large City Council seats.
Unofficial city numbers show Pressley with 37,390 votes, leading Felix Arroyo - another candidate some thought vulnerable - and John Connolly, who came in first two years ago. Incumbent Steve Murphy narrowly retained his seat, beating out former incumbent Michael Flaherty, and putting a damper on another Flaherty run for mayor in two years.
Peter Dziedzic wonders: "Between Linehan's squeaker and Flaherty's apparent loss, what does that say about Southie and its role in Boston politics?"
"Thank You!" Pressley tweeted after the results came in. "I am truly humbled. God bless."
"I'm ecstatic that voters have returned Ayanna and me to the Council," Connolly said in a statement that adds he still has $100,000 in his campaign bank account.
Pressley was aided in the final three weeks of the campaign by both Connolly - who agreed to joint campaign appearances and to give her access to his warchest - and by the Menino camp, which poured foot soldiers into the race.
Unofficial results from the city:
AYANNA S PRESSLEY 37506 21.42% FELIX G ARROYO 35465 20.26% JOHN R CONNOLLY 32803 18.74% STEPHEN J MURPHY 26712 15.26% MICHAEL F FLAHERTY 25790 14.73% WILL DORCENA 8736 4.99% SEAN H RYAN 7373 4.21% Write-in Votes 694 0.40%
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