The Sullivan Saga: Like Father, Like Son?

Walter J. Sullivan, a 34-year veteran of the Cambridge City Council, has announced he will not run for reelection, ending a long career of public service and making the upcoming Council election even more exciting.

In an interview yesterday, Sullivan, age 70, said he made the decision a few weeks ago mainly on the basis of his health.

The Independent councillor, known for constituent service, was a popular politician and a strong vote-getter. He finished second among the nine councillors in the most recent election, and said he never finished lower than third in 17 elections.

His departure, along with that of top Cambridge Civic Association vote-getter Councillor Alice K. Wolf, leaves many votes up for grabs in the upcoming elections and two seats open for non-incumbents to vie for in November.

"It will make it really interesting," Sullivan said. Looking back, Sullivan said, "I'm just most proud of the service I was able to give to the City of Cambridge."

He has a lifetime of memories, from touring the city with then-President John F. Kennedy '40 while looking for a site for his presidential library, to opening Kendall Square for development, to observing Harvard protests in the late 1960s.

And while there were ups and downs--"we went through some tough years in The Square," he said--things turned out well.

'The development in the city worked out great," he said.

By leaving the Council, Sullivan runs the risk of ending a 57-year streak of Sullivan family presence on the council, which meets in City Hall in the Sullivan chambers. The line of Sullivans just may continue, however.

As Walter J. Sullivan steps down, his son Michael A. Sullivan has announced his council candidacy.

Michael Sullivan, 33, is an assistant attorney general with the consumer protection division of the Massachusetts attorney general's office. He said yesterday in an interview that he hopes to "find some new ground," and build consensus on issues in city politics.

Walter Sullivan has enthusiastically endorsed his son. "He's always been involved with me and I know he'll do a good job," he said.

But Michael Sullivan knows that getting elected to the Council is far from easy. "I don't expect anything to be given to me just because my father has served," he said.

Still, he said having Walter Sullivan as a father is "a big plus."

"I basically learned [from my father] to have respect for others and an obligation to honestly serve the people that elected you," Michael Sullivan said.