Eighth District Remembers the Also-Rans

In a highly competitive 10-person Congressional race, it is only inevitable that certain visions will not be followed.

Although the 1998 Eighth Congressional District race will be remembered for putting the new face of Mike Capuano into the Eighth's vaunted history, voters will be hard pressed to forget his two closest competitors--Ray Flynn, former mayor of Boston, and George Bachrach, a former state senator. Both campaigns had high hopes coming into Tuesday night's Democratic primary.

Even with Flynn's loss, the connections he created with local communities during his three terms as Boston mayor will not be erased by Tuesday's defeat, his supporters said.

Jack Donahue, a campaign sound engineer who also worked with Flynn when he was mayor, recalled fondly a moment he said defined Flynn's character.

During his tenure as mayor, Flynn was supposed to attend a tree-lighting ceremony in downtown Boston that would be witnessed by thousands of people.

However, on his way to the occasion, he was alerted of a fire in Hyde Park that ultimately took one person's life. He immediately went to the scene of the fire and, ultimately, arrived at the ceremony three hours late.

"He was more concerned about saving people in the fire, than going to the ceremony," Donahue said.

Testimonials such as these reflect the quality of the candidates in the Eighth District. As Capuano himself admitted Tuesday night, "any one of the 10 candidates" could have represented the district well.

The final vote tallies had Capuano winning with 23 percent of the vote with Flynn following with 18 percent, and Bachrach a close third with 14 percent.

While most politicians tout themselves as having strong values, it appears Flynn was hurt at the polls by his pro-life abortion stand in the highly liberal Eighth District.

"Ray is the kind of guy who'd rather lose the election than win [by compromising his values]," Donahue said. "He's not like a lot of these other guys whose opinion changes because of public opinion polls."

Donahue's sentiment was supported by other campaign workers who respected his ability to stay firm in his beliefs.

"You have seen other politicians sway in the wind and it's a personal belief that he holds. Although people may not agree in that, they respect it," said Greg J. Kelley, a campaign volunteer.

While Flynn may have sacrificed political gain by standing by his strong pro-life abortion stand, voters focused on his populist appeal along with his previous political roots.

"It's a grass roots campaign. He's looking for working families. People in the working class feel a connection with him from his days as Mayor," Kelley said.

Flynn's Watertown headquarters, located next to a sit-down diner and local barbershop, reflected his roots in the community.

Although the main room was decked with Ray Flynn posters, a tucked-away staircase lead to the American Eagle's Lodge, a classic Boston bar.

"He's the poor-man's Lech Walesa. He's the essence of what a Democrat should be," said John J. Curran, a longterm Watertown resident who proclaimed himself as a "blue-collar Democrat."

"He has a track record. He knows the urban and national situation," Curran said.

Donahue also emphasized that not all the communities of the Eighth District are prospering from the nation's economic strength.

"Ray is much more focused on economic justice. A majority of people who are working class folks haven't prospered from this so-called economic boom," he said.

Campaign volunteers for Bachrach also touted his experience and his moral turpitude to take stands on his beliefs.

Bachrach, who earlier in the campaign proclaimed himself an "unrepentant, unabashed and unreconstructed liberal," was hoping to ride to victory on his strength in Boston's northern suburbs.

Bachrach focused on improving education by reducing class size and increasing early education programs along with trying to gain universal access to health care.

Bachrach was trying to place himself as "the progressive alternative to Mike Capuano and Ray Flynn," said Anson E. Kaye, Bachrach's communication director.

"He's stayed true to his beliefs whether popular or not, and he'll fight for progressive values," Kaye said.

The mood was upbeat at Bachrach's festive Cambridge campaign headquarters Tuesday night. In a well-lit room dominated by a food buffet, a jazz band and campaign volunteers milling around anxiously, there was plenty of good cheer.

But in the end, the candidate who proclaimed himself "an unrepentant, unabashed, unreconstructed liberal" and the "grass-roots" Boston man could not overcome the Somerville mayor's coalition.

As the results poured in, and it becmae clear that Capuano was the winner, it also became clear that district voters had left behind two candidates and two roads untraveled.