By Patrick McGroarty
News Editor

Willie Mae Allen, 69, a neighborhood activist and retired mayoral aide from the Raymond Flynn administration, won a narrow victory in a race to fill the Sixth Suffolk State Representative seat that will be vacated by Shirley Owens-Hicks when she retires at the end of this term. Allen beat former Boston Police Deputy Superindendent William Celester, 63, who spent two years in prison for fraud after a six-year tenure as police chief in Newark New Jersey. According to unofficial election results, Allen bested Celester by 400 votes in the district, which includes Mattapan and parts of Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Roslindale.

"We hit all the neighborhoods, and you can see that in the numbers," said Allen campaign manager Cheryl Crawford on Tuesday night. "We knocked on doors, talked to people, and really embraced the entire community."

In an interview from his campaign headquarters just minutes after learning that he had lost the race, Celester said that he thought he had the momentum going into the decisive primary, and that he was disappointed but pleased with his showing in a first-time effort.

"I thought we had won," he said. "But it was a hard fought race, and the numbers just didn't go our way."

He said he would consider running for state rep. again in the future.

Allen said that she believes Celester's single-minded focus on CORI reform and public safety made him too one-dimensional in the eyes of many voters.

"I support CORI reform, and I believe crime is a problem," she said. "But I believe crime comes from a variety of structural issues. I ran for legislature, not as a member of the city council, and it is their job to see that funding is directly available for community policing."

Celester's well-known criminal record brought early attention to the race, and Allen has said that she decided to run after being flooded by phone calls from district residents looking for a leader with "dedication and integrity."

But Allen's own record came into question in June when the Reporter wrote that she owned two properties on the city's list of abandoned properties. She says she has since procured a loan to restore the houses, and plans to designate one for use as a women's resource center.

Another twist in the unusual race came when a third Democratic challenger, Wayne Wilson, dropped out at a June debate because the AFL-CIO had endorsed Willie Mae Allen.

Celester became a formidable opponent in the race by tapping into a network of politicians and established city leaders dating back to his days as commander of Mattapan's Area B police district. He garnered an impressive list of endorsements, including City Councillors Chuck Turner and Stephen Murphy.

In the end, those connections did not mobilize votes in the way some observers had predicted, and Allen's appeal to families and young voters proved more effective.

"I didn't have any of the old machine behind me. I didn't rely on endorsements," she said.

Despite her work at city hall, Allen said that Mayor Menino stayed clear of the race.

"He did, and I'm glad,' said Allen. "It gives me the feeling that people in the community had confidence in me, they didn't just vote because the mayor had endorsed me."

She said she was looking forward to meeting with her fellow lawmakers, and that educating youth in her district to take an active role in city government would be a priority during her two-year term.

"I have no intention of making this job my lifetime dream," she said. "I will spend these two years grooming young people with the talent to become a state legislator."

In the Fifth Suffolk district, State Representative Marie St. Fleur dominated a bid for re-election against two Democratic challengers, defeating her closest challenger, minister Roy Owens, by more than 2-1.

According to unofficial election results, St. Fleur accrued 56 percent of the vote while Owens earned 26 percent and MBTA bus driver Severiano Cruz took 17 percent.

It has been a trying year, politically and personally, for St. Fleur, and she said on Tuesday night that she felt grateful that her constituents had chosen to return her to the Statehouse.

"I think the district has spoken for itself," she said. "They want to send me back for two more years."

In January, St. Fleur's fleeting bid to run for Lieutenant Governor alongside then-Democratic front runner Tom Reilly disintegrated amid revelations that she had serious tax and student loan debt.

On Monday evening, St. Fleur made an unscheduled appearance at the Old Time Political Rally in Adams Corner. Candidates from the Fifth Suffolk were not formally invited to speak because the district does not include Ward 16, where the rally was held. But the contingent of Dorchester representatives with a piece of Ward 16 who are running unopposed this fall (State Senator Jack Hart, State Rep. Linda Dorcena Forry and State Rep. Martin Walsh) opted to share their time onstage and used the opportunity to stand together for St. Fleur.

"She's had a little bit of a tough year and that's why we're all here tonight," Walsh said to the crowd. "But she can laugh about it… and she can laugh about it because she's a Dorchester person."

St. Fleur used her impromptu speech to thank residents in the Fifth Suffolk for their support.

"Thank you for your thoughts, thank you for your prayers, thank you for sticking with me, because believe it or not, some of us do work for a living, some of us do experience hard times and the bottom line is we are a neighborhood that gets up and keeps moving," she said.

In an interview on Tuesday evening, St. Fleur said she would take some time to enjoy her victory before beginning her campaign against Althea Garrison, a former State Rep. and perennial Republican candidate, and considering her role in supporting the Democratic campaign for governor.

"I can tell you all I'm gonna do is savor the moment," she said.

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Ninth District Congressman Stephen Lynch bested a challenge from anti-war Democrat Phil Dunkelbarger, defeating the Westwood businessman 77 to 23 percent.

Dunkelbarger repeatedly attacked Lynch's vote to authorize the war in Iraq in the fall of 2003, and criticized his subsequent voting record in regards to the war. He also made modest attempts to draw a connection between his campaign and that of Ned Lamont, who defeated incumbent Senator Joseph Lieberman in the Connecticut Democratic Primary. But Dunkelbarger lacked significant funding or appeal that stretches beyond a niche of anti-war groups such as Dorchester People for Peace. Even as an increasing number of Dorchester soldiers were injured and killed in Iraq in recent months, supporters did not seem to be moving in his direction.

Lynch, who made opening remarks at Monday's rally in Adams Corner, referenced his own race only in passing, and instead emphasized the importance of reclaiming the U.S. Congress under Democratic leadership in mid-term elections this November.

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Maura Doyle, the first woman to serve as Clerk of the Supreme Judicial Court since the court was created over 300 years ago, survived the first challenger she has faced in the ten years since being appointed to the clerkship. She defeated Peter Walsh, a retired state worker and Teamsters employee, with 68 percent of the vote.

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Maura Hennigan, who served on the Boston City Council for almost 24 years before losing to Mayor Thomas Menino in his 2005 bid for re-election, beat Robert J. Della Russo, assistant clerk to the Suffolk Superior Criminal Court, in the race for Clerk of Superior Court for Criminal Business. Hennigan beat Dello Russo by just over 6,000 votes, making it by far the closest of the three contests specific to Suffolk County.

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Former Police Commissioner and City Councillor Mickey Roache defended his position as Register of Deeds from a second challenge by Michael Mackan, though Mackan pulled in a respectable 21 percent of the vote.