Clancy outspent Kennedy $167,000 to $32,000

Money isn’t everything when it comes to getting re-elected or elected, for that matter.

This was proven in Lynn during the recent mayoral campaign.

Former Mayor Edward Chip Clancy spent $167,000 on his campaign.

Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy spent $32,000.

According to campaign expense records recently released, Kennedy won with almost no money while Clancy lost with a ton of money.

What does this prove?

For all his money spent on the campaign, Clancy could not win.

There is an old adage in politics – when your time has come your time has come and nothing can undo this.

Clancy’s time had come.

His advertising was clear and bold – vintage Clancy, stuff that had worked well when he was in his mayoral prime.

But this time around, none of the advertising worked the way it should have.

If Clancy had spent $200,000, it is unlikely the outcome would have changed.

Flanagan Kennedy, on the other hand, spent relatively little and went a lot further.

In fact, having little money by comparison worked to her advantage.

She won – by 30 votes – but she won convincingly in a city where Clancy had ruled for almost a decade without a serious challenge.

Money isn’t everything, Flanagan Kennedy proved.

Money could not buy the election.

Money could not overcome the end of the line that Clancy had come to.

Flanagan Kennedy did what she did with a wave of her own – not unlike that used by Scott Brown in his special race for Ted Kennedy’s senate seat.

Flanagan Kennedy’s independence and her distance from the Clancy machine, aided her in her battle to steal nearly half the vote for herself.

Clancy would have done better spending the last three days of the campaign trying to round up and additional 40 votes than raising money and spending it.

Who could have known?

It tends to be difficult to know when your time has come until the moment arrives.

This is what makes politics so interesting and so difficult.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.