Boston Mayoral Candidates Turn Up Heat In Final Days Of Campaign
BOSTON (CBS) -- All things considered, the city's mayoral race has been fairly civilized over the past six months. In the final two days before the election, all bets are off.
John Connolly hit Marty Walsh with all he had over the weekend, telling a rally of moms and children in Dorchester that his opponent is too beholden to special interest.
"Will this race be decided by the residents of Boston? Or will it be decided by close to $3 million in outside money?" the lawyer turned city councilman asked the crowd.
Chanting "Boston's not for sale," the Connolly group came equipped with pint-sized campaigners and homemade signs. Connolly played to his strengths, assuring the rally he's focused on education.
Meanwhile, Walsh continued his stumping through neighborhood meet-and-greets, downplaying any help he's getting from outside the city.
"We're not shipping in thousands of people," Walsh told reporters, refuting Connolly's claims that paid workers will man his get-out-the-vote efforts. Walsh said his friends are helping him in these final hours.
"I don't mind who is involved as long as it's positive," Walsh said.
Walsh declined to give specifics about his plan for Tuesday but said he hopes to have thousands of volunteers helping. Connolly said he plans to have about a thousand volunteers helping on Election Day and that the get-out-the-vote approach for his campaign is modeled after President Obama's successful runs.
Given a chance to make a last appeal to voters and sum up their campaigns, here's what each candidate had to say:
"I will be an independent leader with a progressive vision, who will stand up for all of Boston," Connolly said.
"I want to make sure we work to close the gap with poverty. That's one thing that's really important in this city," Walsh said. "As I've traveled around, you see that gap is growing and it's a lot to do with fixing our schools and creating opportunities. You can't just tackle one issue; it has to be a bunch of them together."
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