E-Mail This Article to a Friend SAME SHERIFF IN TOWN Cabral defeats Murphy in Democratic primary BY ADAM REILLY

After all the preliminary drama — the sketchy public-service announcements, the dubious novelty checks, the pointed allegations of mismanagement and incompetence — the Suffolk County sheriff’s race ended in decidedly undramatic fashion last night. Incumbent Andrea Cabral didn’t just beat Boston city councilor Steve Murphy. She crushed him, 60 percent to 40 percent, a margin of victory that made the outcome clear early on and seemed to surprise everyone, Cabral included.

By about 8:30 p.m., a half-hour after the polls closed, the Cabral camp knew they’d won in Winthrop, an unexpected result that augured well. As a result, perhaps, the mood among the Cabral supporters gathered at Hampshire House, in Beacon Hill, was relaxed and upbeat. "It was exciting from step one, really, because for a novice, I thought she handled herself quite well," Yvonne Cabral said of her daughter’s first campaign (Andrea was appointed sheriff in 2002 by Governor Jane Swift). "She’s always been a quick study." "My daughter didn’t surprise me — she showed signs when she was a young child," added Joseph Cabral, holding his hand about three feet from the ground. "She told me when she was knee-high to a grasshopper — she said, ‘Dad, I’m gonna be a lawyer.’ I said, ‘Okay, that’s a child speaking.’ Then she took off." A few yards away, on the staircase leading to the lobby, Donna Casali, one of Cabral’s Jamaica Plain coordinators, was already talking smack. "There’s going to be no question today," said Casali, a short woman who wore a SHERIFF CABRAL hat, a SHERIFF CABRAL nametag, and a SHERIFF CABRAL bumper sticker. (The latter was affixed to her pants.) "I think Sheriff Cabral’s great. She’s not into this for the politics; she’s into this because she wants to reform the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department. Great manager, very smart, very innovative. Every time I listen to her, I learn something knew. It’s, like, amazing."

Over at the Boston Teachers Union, in Dorchester, where Murphy’s supporters had congregated, the atmosphere verged on funereal. Murphy had conceded defeat around nine o’clock; this hadn’t yet been announced, but the crowd seemed to sense it. People sat quietly at tables festooned with red, white, and blue balloons, staring into space over emptied bottles of Bud and Michelob or conversing in hushed tones. But two Revere city councilors — John Correggio and Mark Casella — refused to give up hope. "We haven’t heard anything like that," Correggio said when I mentioned Murphy’s concession. When I made passing mention of the novelty-check issue — earlier this week, a Boston Globe story suggested that Murphy was taking inappropriate credit for the disbursal of federal Homeland Security funds by presenting great big checks around Suffolk County in the run-up to the election — Casella bristled. "Why was someone saying it was a novelty check?" he asked testily. "I thought it was legitimate. I take Steve Murphy at his word."

Murphy finally showed up a few minutes after 9:30. As he walked into the room to the strains of Steely Dan, the crowd rose to its feet and started applauding. He got a big hug from Casella. Then he got another from the Reverend Eugene Rivers, who’d made headlines by crossing racial lines and endorsing Murphy. The candidate finally made his way to the podium. "First of all, let’s all of us, all of us here, congratulate Sheriff Andrea Cabral on a wonderful victory," he said. There was widespread applause, though Casella refused to join in. Murphy mentioned that he’d just called Cabral to congratulate her. "She deserves tremendous credit for her campaign," he said. Silence. Then the councilor, who’s also lost campaigns for state representative and state treasurer, made a sort of plea for unity, promising to support Cabral in her new term and urging his supporters to do the same. (Because there is no Republican candidate for sheriff, last night’s Democratic primary was the de facto general election.)

After Murphy wrapped up his concession speech, I asked Rivers for his take on the evening’s surprising result. He began with a disclaimer. "Frankly, I haven’t seen the numbers, which is the only way I can offer an intelligent comment," he said. Then Rivers segued into comments that seemed crafted for Cabral’s consumption, and fell somewhere between a reprimand and a plea. "I’m proud of what Steve Murphy did, and if I had it to do again, I’d vote again for Steve Murphy. It’s my hope that, moving forward, Sheriff Cabral will be a bit more vigilant in reaching out and cultivating her political skills. So congratulations to Sheriff Cabral for running a good race, and it’s my hope that she’ll reach out to everyone."

Back at Hampshire House, the crowd — which, from the looks of things, was younger, wealthier, blacker, and gayer than the crowd at Murphy’s shindig — had swelled considerably. Cabral worked the room, accepting congratulations from well-wishers who included Boston city councilors Maura Hennigan, Felix Arroyo, Paul Scapicchio, and John Tobin. After a while, as the crowd started to thin out, Cabral made her way to the table her parents had staked out in a relatively quiet corner. "I think that’s a higher margin than we anticipated," Cabral said of her 20-point victory. "So many things happened. The communities of color turned out huge. Women across the board turned out huge. I had women coming up to me and saying, ‘I turned out just to vote for you.’ We also made significant inroads into Steve Murphy’s base." Cabral, who looked exhausted, admitted that she was having difficulty processing her victory. Then she analyzed it a bit more. "I kept saying all along, our campaign looked like Suffolk County — we had both genders, every race, every sexual orientation, you name it. That’s what’s so phenomenal about this."