And yet, as McCarthy seeks a third term in office, none of the councilors are challenging her. She has been very popular with voters, winning 82 percent of the ballots cast in her last election.
“It would be a tough race,’’ said City Councilor Thomas J. Curtin. “Would you really want to do that if the general perception is that she cannot be beat? A lot of people feel that.’’
City Councilor Thomas Stanley, who also serves as a state representative, considered running for mayor this year, but decided against it when McCarthy, who had earlier said she would leave office after two terms, announced she was running for reelection. In her first race for mayor in 2003, McCarthy beat Stanley by a large margin.
City Council president Paul Brasco had also announced he would run for mayor, but he dropped out of the race earlier this year.
So that leaves Wirth, who is studying business at Massachusetts Bay Community College. One of his early campaign events was at the Skellig, a pub where he spun a copy of the Guinness Book of World Records on his finger for 40 minutes and 8 seconds - and now hopes his name will appear in the book’s next edition for breaking the old record.
Wirth started spinning trays on one finger during slow spells while he waited tables, he said. He got good at it, and decided to challenge the book-spinning record.
“Not that I’m just some guy that spins,’’ said Wirth, who is from Hayward, Calif. He has long been interested in politics, he said, and decided to run against McCarthy because she had no opponent.
“I thought democracy only works when more than one candidate is running,’’ he said.
Wirth’s main political experience was volunteering on a city councilor’s campaign in Hayward. He has also done volunteer work in California and Waltham, and spent time during this campaign knocking on doors and talking to voters.
