By Vicki-Ann Downing
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Nov 01, 2009 @ 03:14 AM
Last update Nov 02, 2009 @ 12:04 PM
BROCKTON —
On a sidewalk outside the Shaw’s and
Home Depot plaza on Crescent Street,
5-year-old Jason Wonodi, dressed as
Spiderman, shook hands Saturday with James
E. Harrington, dressed — as usual — as the
mayor.
Jason told Harrington that he attends
kindergarten at the Mary Baker School on
Quincy Street.
“That’s a nice new school, isn’t it?”
beamed Harrington, smiling at Jason, his
7-year-old brother, Achi, and their father,
Ikem Wonodi, 39.
“I vote all the time,” said Wonodi, who
stopped his car so his sons could meet
Harrington. “Obviously, for the mayor.”
Meanwhile, in a quiet neighborhood off
North Main Street, Harrington’s opponent in
Tuesday’s election, Councilor-at-large Linda
Balzotti, was doing what she’s done since
June: pounding the pavement and knocking on
doors, this time in Ward 7.
Leonard Carrel, 62, seemed delighted to
find Balzotti on his porch on Mellen Street,
offering him a campaign pamphlet.
“It is good to meet you and we are
voting for you,” Carrel assured Balzotti.
“You are the reason we are going to vote, no
question. Thank you for coming around.”
As the election season winds to a close,
the candidates were busy Saturday being
seen: Balzotti at a road race at the Raymond
School, Harrington at a Halloween party at a
karate studio at Westgate Mall.
Issues didn’t come up much. Mostly the
candidates shared a single message: “Please
vote on Tuesday.”
Harrington, 61, who was beaten in the
primary when only 13 percent of the voters
went to the polls, said a large turnout
would benefit him. Balzotti, 48, said she is
hoping to gain from a large turnout, too,
especially in Ward 4, where she grew up.
Harrington, dressed in black slacks, a
crisp white shirt and red tie, stood out
Saturday morning among his supporters
holding signs on Crescent Street. They
included Police Chief William K. Condon,
Housing Authority Executive Director Richard
Sergi and City Councilors Dennis F. DeNapoli
and Thomas Brophy.
Later, Harrington walked into stores in
the plaza, announcing, “How you guys doing?
I’m Jim Harrington. I’m the mayor.”
Emerging from the Dollar Tree,
Harrington shook his head.
“You know what’s amazing? None of the
adults know who I am, but all of the kids
do, from my visits to the schools. They’re
telling their parents, ‘That’s the mayor.’”
Alejandro Perez, 48, who owns the
Burrito Wraps Mexican Grill, said he is a
fan. Perez said he went to see Harrington
when he was interested in bringing his
business to Brockton and found the mayor
receptive.
“I love the mayor, and I mean that
sincerely,” said Perez, who, unfortunately
for Harrington, lives in Marshfield. “When
someone who has a city to run takes the time
to help a small business person, he’s a
dying breed. He has my vote.”
Since taking an unpaid leave of absence
from her job at Bridgewater State College,
Balzotti estimates she has spent two to
three hours a day, three days a week,
knocking on doors and meeting voters.
Accompanied Saturday by a campaign
volunteer, Deb Beane, 55, of Brockton, she
worked from a list of those likely to vote
in municipal elections.
“The best thing about it, to be quite
honest, is it doesn’t cost anything,” said
Balzotti, who was outspent 3-1 in the
campaign by Harrington.
In black slacks and a print blouse,
Balzotti joked with voters, telling them she
was knocking on doors before the
trick-or-treaters did so no one would see
her and say, “The Linda Balzotti costumes
are out already.”
No matter what happens on Tuesday,
Balzotti said she is often struck by the
thought that “a little kid raised in a ranch
in Campello can grow up and run for mayor of
Brockton, just by a lot of hard work.”
The door-to-door campaign has also
taught Balzotti about Brockton’s own six
degrees of separation.
A door on Addison Street was answered by
Lorraine Guillemette, whose daughter, it
turns out, graduated from Brockton High
School with Balzotti.
“I voted for you in the primary,” said
Guillemette. “Good luck.”