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BOSTON (AP) - There was only one problem with a Boston hotel's plan to offer alcoholic drinks named after two city mayoral candidates: one of them is a recovering alcoholic.
Officials at the Loews Boston Hotel canceled the promotion after being questioned recently by a Boston Herald reporter.
The hotel had planned to sell $8 drinks named after Democratic mayoral candidates John R. Connolly and Martin J. Walsh, and offer $4 nonalcoholic alternatives to them, in its bar, Cuffs. Walsh, a state representative, has openly discussed his past troubles with alcohol during his campaign.
Loews Boston had planned to keep a tab on sales of the drinks _ dubbed the J.R. Connelly and M.J. Walsh _ as an unofficial, pre-election indicator of who was winning the race, the Herald reported Sunday ( http://bit.ly/19Oudnn).
"Loews Boston Hotel acknowledges the insensitivity of this recent promotion and have canceled it effective immediately," the hotel said in a statement after being questioned by the reporter.
Walsh's campaign declined to comment.
Walsh and Connolly, a city councilor and former teacher, were the top vote-getters in a recent preliminary election before the Nov. 5 general election.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is stepping down in January after 20 years in office.
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Information from: Boston Herald, http://www.bostonherald.com
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
