hy Concannon may be regretting not having counted the votes twice
Former Newton mayor Thomas B. Concannon has no one to blame but himself for his loss to the former Somerville alderman, John R. Buonomo, in the recount of Democratic primary ballots in the race for Middlesex County register of probate. After Buonomo successfully petitioned for a recount in 125 of the county's 473 precincts where he ran well, Concannon inexplicably did not seek a defensive recount in any of his strongholds. The result? Buonomo's original 35-vote margin of defeat became a 16-vote victory, out of more than 58,000 votes cast in the nine-way race. Buonomo netted a 21-vote gain in Somerville, where he clobbered Concannon by more than 2,900 votes, and a 24-vote gain in Cambridge, where his margin was 802. Concannon did not seek a recount in his home city of Newton, which he won by more than 2,600 votes. Buonomo, who lost close Somerville mayoral elections in 1989 and 1999, will face Republican Lee Johnson of Medford in November. Johnson was appointed in 1999 by Governor Paul Cellucci after the Supreme Judicial Court, citing misconduct, ousted Robert Antonelli from the office.
At debate: tribute to a local titan ...
Texas Governor George W. Bush may not have thought much of the University of Massachusetts at Boston as the site for the first presidential debate, but he did have some kind words for William M. Bulger, who led the small delegation that welcomed Bush to the school.
As the two chatted, Bush spotted Andrew Card, his point man on the debates. ''You know the honorable, don't you?'' he said, nodding toward Bulger. Card, who served on Beacon Hill as a state representative before becoming a Washington bigwig, said he did.
''He trained me,'' said the man who served as deputy chief of staff and then secretary of transportation for President Bush.
''He trained a lot of people,'' rejoined Bush, who then called over to Condoleeza Rice, his foreign policy adviser, ''This is a man you've got to get to know.''
... and travail over the geography of two wars, one not in the Balkans
And everyone thought it would be Governor Bush who would flub any geography-related question that arose in last week's first debate. Wrong. It was the Factoid Favorite, Vice President Al Gore, who mixed up his countries. When the Bosnian conflict arose, Gore recalled, his uncle ''was a victim of poison gas there.'' Americans did not fight in the Balkans in World War I. Gore's uncle's misfortune occurred in the Argonne - in France. Bush strayed close to the foreign policy shoals, though, at one point referring to Slobodan Milosevic (pronounced Mee-lo-se-vitch) as ''Mee-lo-se-vick.''
Making sure the hall seats are filled
On Monday night in Faneuil Hall, where the mayor hosted a forum on the presidential debate, it felt a lot like being inside City Hall. Thomas M. Menino, whose panel of journalists had to compete with discussions throughout the city, drew on his staff to help fill the hall. The faces were so familiar that even veteran journalist Jack Germond, a panelist, claimed to notice. He joked from the stage: ''I think there are only 400 people in Boston, because the same ones are here every time.''
The opponents, and proponents, of waterfront plan arm themselves
Amedia consultant, Michael Goldman, and a strategist, Jeremy Crockford, have been tapped by the Conservation Law Foundation to organize opposition to the city's Municipal Harbor Plan. They hope to influence the state environmental secretary, Robert Durand, who is said to be casting a nervous eye toward public opposition to the plan and is concerned about the scrutiny of his handling of the case. But Durand will also face pressure from proponents: In addition to the mayor's office and labor, the Pritzker family, which has the most to gain in the waterfront development plan, is calling in business and tourism interests to rally around the Municipal Harbor Plan. The proposal is considered so favorable to the family that many call it the ''Pritzker Plan.''
Hennigan takes aim - but at what?
City Councilor Maura A. Hennigan of Jamaica Plain, a former friend of the administration, has leaped from the back benches to lead opposition to the mayor's agenda on everything from housing policy to Fenway Park. She's even meddling in Council President James M. Kelly's territory over waterfront development, leading many observers to wonder just which incumbent she's aiming to challenge next year - the council president or the mayor. Hennigan says she is only doing her job as a veteran with 19 years on the job. ''If I'm not trying to use the knowledge and expertise and experience to do something good, then I shouldn't be here,'' she said. ''I'm not running for mayor, council president, or councilor at large. It will just make me feel like I've done the right thing. I've never seen things this bad in the city.'' Sound like a stump speech?
Lacking any local campaign heat? A legislative race may bring sparks
In a year of ho-hum and nonexistent political campaigns, there is one fight for the House setting off some sparks: A challenge by Joe McManus, a Groton Democrat, to state Representative Robert S. Hargraves, a Republican from the same town. Now, the Democratic Party has asked the state Ethics Commission and the Office of Campaign and Political Finance to investigate Hargraves on suspicion he may have violated state election law. The party says Hargraves improperly used ''The View from the Hill,'' a newspaper column in his district, to solicit campaign contributions for a fund-raiser. Hargraves wrote in the column April 5: ''Finally, a reminder that Governor Paul Cellucci will be the featured guest at our annual spring fund-raiser. This event will be held at the Groton Country Club on Thursday, May 4, beginning at 7 p.m.'' Neither the Ethics Commission nor the Office of Campaign and Political Finance commented on the allegations. Hargraves did not return a call.
Fall fair has some real cash prizes
Visitors had a chance to take home more than giant stuffed animals at the ''Big E'' Exposition in West Springfield this month and last month if they visited the state Treasury's booth at the fair. There, Treasurer Shannon P. O'Brien's Abandoned Property Claim Show found more than $70,000 and nearly 6,700 shares of stock for people who searched the Treasury's laptop computer databases, which contained 2 million records.
Brian C. Mooney, Scot Lehigh, Walter V. Robinson, Stephanie Ebbert of the Globe Staff, and Regina Montague, a Globe correspondent, contributed to this report.
