No mayoral endorsement from Ward 11


John Ruch and David Taber

Yoon tops Menino in vote

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The local Ward 11 Democratic Committee could not agree on a candidate to endorse in the mayoral race this week—and incumbent Thomas Menino came in second to Sam Yoon in the voting, according to a committee source.

The committee requires a two-thirds majority for an endorsement. Yoon received 11 votes to Menino’s 9. The other candidates, Michael Flaherty and Kevin McCrea, received no votes.

It is rare for any ward committee to not endorse a well-known incumbent, let alone the mayor. The last time Ward 11 failed to endorse a high-profile incumbent was in 2005, when City Councilor John Tobin could not win the majority over a Jamaica Plain challenger. That year, Tobin won the election, but lost the JP vote.

The Ward 11 vote came shortly after a City Hall scandal broke over Menino’s top aide deleting e-mails, possibly in violation of state public records law.

In this year’s at-large City Council race, Ward 11 endorsed JP resident Felix G. Arroyo, incumbent John Connolly, Tito Jackson and Ayanna Pressley.

Ward 11 covers parts of central and eastern JP, including sections of Brookside, Parkside, Stonybrook and Forest Hills.

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