Election roundup: Former critics back Connolly; casino forum coming up in Eastie

The Globe reports several black ministers endorsed John Connolly yesterday and notes how dramatic that was given that some of them were comparing him to, gasp, Louise Day Hicks just last year, after he publicly called for School Superintendent Carol Johnson to quit. The Globe says Connolly stopped saying that after meeting with one of the ministers and agreeing to try to work things out with Johnson.

The Walsh campaign, meanwhile, touted its endorsement by Arline Isaacson, co-chair of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus:

The LGBT community could not ask for a better friend or ally. Had Marty simply voted for marriage equality, the LGBT community would have been deeply grateful and applauded his actions. But Marty went far beyond a simple vote. When you are in a war for something as important as your very right to marry, you want to have in the trenches with you someone you can trust, someone who understands how important the fight is and someone who is committed to do everything he can to help you. That was the role Marty Walsh played.

CommonWealth argues Future Bostony young'uns are not going to swing this election - they may not even vote much, leaving the electoral decision up to the traditionally vote-heavy older folks in places like West Roxbury and South Boston:

As with recent municipal elections, the southern part of the city showed higher levels of turnout than the rest of the Boston. In fact, out of the 50 precincts with the highest turnout, only four were outside of Boston's southern precincts. ... Furthermore, not a single precinct from the northern part of Boston had a turnout rate higher than 50 percent, while just over 20 precincts from the southern part of the city did. The 30 precincts with the lowest turnout were all from northern parts of the city.

Current Mayor Tom Menino's chief speechwriter gives some tips on writing a good mayoral speech.

East Boston residents who haven't decided how to vote in the Suffolk Downs casino referendum should attend the Jeffries Point Neighborhood Association meeting on Tuesday - they'll have folks from Suffolk Downs and No Eastie Casino to give their sides. Starts at 7 p.m. at the Jeffries Point Yacht Club, 565 Sumner St.