By Dave Benoit
Special to the Reporter

After a long day of standing in the rain, shaking hands, and asking people to vote, Sam Yoon finally got his chance to celebrate on Tuesday night.

Holding onto his city council seat with a strong third place finish, Yoon survived an election with abysmal 13.6 percent turnout. As he stood in the Blarney Stone on Dorchester Ave., his smile beamed its brightest, relishing his second citywide victory.

"Relieved," he said of his feelings. "I am honored that the city likes me enough to say I would be good to keep around."

Yoon started his day early, arriving at the Lucy Stone Elementary School to vote at 7:20 a.m., his wife, two young children, and his parents all appearing with him. In the small school cafeteria, Yoon and his wife exercised their civic duty without the hindrance of other voters in the room. Nine citizens had recorded ballots at the station, including Yoon, in the first 45 minutes it was open.

"I voted for myself," was all the Councilor would divulge after his daughter Naomi slipped his ballot in the machine.

From the voting booths, the Yoons split up, the children to school, the parents and the wife to South Boston polling locations, and the candidate to the Shawmut T station to pull for electorates.

And then the rain came.

For over an hour a hooded Sam Yoon shouted "happy election day" and "remember to vote" as hurried commuters paced themselves to the T-station entrance, aided by a campaign worker who shielded her head with a folded newspaper. A litany of responses made their way back through constant rain, some good, some indifferent, some confused.

Yoon: "It's voting day, remember to vote!"

Citizen: "There's an election?"

Sometimes his morning exuberance drew terse responses.

Yoon: "It's election day, are you going to go vote?"

Citizen: "No."

Yoon: "Well … have a nice day."

Other times he was welcomed, people calling him by his first name, others praising his work. His energy seemed to grow as the rain came down harder on the green hood keeping him dry.

Yoon: "Don't let the rain drive you away from your duty!"

Citizen: "I remember you, you came to my church. God bless you."

On a day when only 13.6 percent of the city made its way to the polls, Yoon was frustrated with the appearance of apathy.

"Such a small minority of people control government, really," he said. "From my point of view there is so much we could be doing."

From the Shawmut stop, an advisor whisked Yoon over to Roxbury where he stood outside the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Towers. There Yoon was supported by Minister Don Mohammed of the Nation of Islam, for another hour of standing in the rain.

"He is a councillor who cares about the people in this city," said Mohammed, who did not support Yoon before he saw his performance in office, but now was willing to stand in driving rain with a bad knee for him. "Sam Yoon is out there in the trenches."

As voters sporadically walked by, Yoon and Mohammed discussed the city's problems, panning out from the day's focus to a wider, sadder picture of the city.

"People don't know the gravity of it unless they are involved," said Mohammed. "Drugs are responsible for 80 percent of crime. So we could stop fighting crime and just start fighting drugs and we would already be fighting crime. And the politicians are running away from it."

"That just illustrates how integrated drugs are," Yoon responded. "We in politics have to have the courage to disentangle that."

An elderly woman slowly made her way to the two men to express her thanks to Yoon. Walking with a visible limp and the use of a cane the woman came back from voting almost 15 minutes later.

"I've done my duty for you," she shouted, saluting the councilor as she ambled by again.

"You did yours and now we'll do ours," Yoon shouted back, before turning to Mohammed to comment. "That's a voter who is an inspiration. You can see how hard she must have had to work just to get here."

At another point a security worker in the building thanked Yoon for once reading a speech by him at a rally. Yoon told him he was only doing his job.

"You see, that's what it should be about, taking your voice and bringing it to the people," he said.

As the time approached 10:20 and the rain picked up to a steady downpour, Mohammed and Yoon agreed to set up a tour of a prison for the Councilor, and Yoon was again driven off to more polling locations.

Hours later, as supporters gathered in the Blarney Stone, Yoon finally entered at 10 p.m. to a loud cheer and lots of hugs. He gave a speech of thanks and lots more hugs. City Council President Maureen Feeney came to congratulate Yoon, telling him "she needs him on the council."

But not everyone in Yoon's camp was celebrating, and one could see the victory was tainted by Felix Arroyo's fall.

"It's bittersweet, I am sincerely really deeply going to miss him on the council," Yoon said somberly. "But at the same time I congratulate John Connolly and look forward to working with him."

Then it was back to the hugs and back slaps and the many thanks of a politician, before being again taken away, this time to revel in his colleagues' victories and to go say goodbye to another.