Election roundup: Racial divides, newspaper endorsements

The Globe reports on a debate focused on issues of particular concern to the city's communities of color. CommonWealth has more:

The two candidates for mayor of Boston told a large crowd in Roxbury Wednesday night that the city in many ways remains as racially divided today as it did in the years after busing.

The Herald reports the flyer war is heating up, with Connolly complaining again about those union-PAC things and Walsh bringing up those 2007 anti-Murphy flyers.

Oh, is there a negative anti-Walsh push poll being pushed?

Speaking of unions, Maurice Cunningham wonders why Walsh has gotten more grief for union support than Connolly has for lawyer/developer support:

It does seem curious to me that labor should receive so much negative attention and media scrutiny while other moneyed interests seeking to influence the election get off so lightly.

Bay Windows endorsed Connolly yesterday, says that while Walsh has an excellent record on LGBT issues, Connolly is even better:

It's probably why Connolly is one of the few politicians today (actually, Mayor Menino comes to mind) who still talks about the need for HIV education, prevention, and outreach. And it's probably why Connolly understands that it is offensive to march in South Boston's annual St. Patrick's Day parade.

Connolly used to march in the parade until he asked his staff about it and was told that it was the one day of the year that they were embarrassed to work for him. Walsh marches in the parade every year but says that if he is elected mayor he will stop marching.

Yes, it's a parade. No, it's not the critical issue of the day. But leadership matters.

The South End News, which has the same publishers, also endorsed Connolly, because of his education policies. You may recall how, before the preliminary, Bay Windows endorsed Ross and the South End News Connolly.