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ELECTIONS
Sympathy vote for Brian Honan
BY JOE HEISLER

The late Boston city councilor Brian Honan’s campaign for Suffolk County district attorney is taking on a life of its own. Little more than a month after the much-beloved District Nine councilor collapsed and died of still-unknown causes while recovering from cancer surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a word-of-mouth campaign has sprung up among his friends and supporters to cast a vote for Honan in the September 17 primary.

Because ballots had already been prepared at the time of his death, Honan’s name could not be removed from the September 17 Democratic-primary ballot — even though ballots cast for Honan will not officially be counted, according to state election officials.

" I think people feel this incredible loyalty toward Brian and that this is a way to bring closure to his tragic death, " explains Councilor Maureen Feeney of Dorchester, who was among a dozen of Honan’s council colleagues to show up at a memorial mass for the late city councilor last week at St. Columbkille’s in Brighton, and who stood by the Honan family’s side throughout the three-day wake and funeral in August. " People are looking for a way to say thank you for all that he did. "

In the district-attorney race, Honan was just " hitting his stride " when he was stricken by illness from the cancer, says Tom Keady, a long-time friend and political confidant of Honan and his brother, State Representative Kevin Honan. Keady remains convinced that had Honan survived, he would have overtaken and beaten Suffolk County DA Dan Conley, the early favorite. Polls showed Honan within striking distance of Conley. And on the Monday after Honan died, he was scheduled to receive the endorsement of several key political figures in the city, including former district attorney Ralph Martin, State Senator Marian Walsh of West Roxbury, and City Councilor John Tobin, also of West Roxbury. Several other councilors had already endorsed Honan and had volunteered to stand in for him during his expected recovery.

In August, upon news of Honan’s death, Conley suspended his campaign activities out of respect for the Honan family and only recently has begun to campaign again. Since Honan’s votes won’t count, unless a write-in candidate were to top him in the primary, Conley will be the Democratic nominee. He was appointed district attorney in February by Governor Jane Swift, after Martin resigned to go into private practice. Conley will face two unenrolled challengers — South End attorney Eddie Jenkins and former federal prosecutor William Sinnott of Hyde Park — in the November general election.

Former Honan campaign consultant Jeremy Crockford sees support for a Honan vote growing on several fronts. " I am hearing from a lot people ... a lot of whom don’t feel there is anyone left in the race who stands for the things Brian stood for, " he says. " Brian was an unabashed liberal; he was against the death penalty, pro-choice, and for drug treatment as part of sentencing. "

Crockford says the Honan family remains in seclusion and has nothing to do with any attempts to woo votes. " The family is devastated, " he explains. " They are just trying to cope with his death. The campaign is the last thing on their minds. "

But Crockford says that in the unlikely event that Honan’s primary vote total ever topped Conley’s, it would send a powerful message to Conley and his supporters: " It would say that Boston remains a compassionate and progressive city. "

Issue Date: September 5 - 12, 2002
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