Mayor Thomas Menino was able to fend off challenger Michael Flaherty in large part due to his success in communities of color, according to a MassVOTE report released yesterday.
Within the more than 111,000 ballots cast Tuesday — the most in a mayoral election since 1993 — were many for Menino in Mattapan (74.2 percent), Grove Hall and Dudley Square (71.5 percent), Codman Square (70.8 percent) and Uphams Corner (67.5 percent).
“Communities of color were clearly a bedrock of support for Menino — they were an essential part of his winning coalition,” said Avi Green, executive director of MassVOTE. “Flaherty worked hard to make inroads in Roxbury and other neighborhoods, but ultimately was not able to win over enough African-American voters.”
In addition to his native South Boston, which gave him 68.7 percent of the vote, Flaherty took four other neighborhoods, including the Back Bay, Charlestown, parts of Jamaica Plain and the Neponset-Savin Hill region.
Menino won the remaining 17 neighborhoods, including 72.2 percent of the vote in his native Hyde Park.
