Please don't spread lies.

I find it funny that a post titled "dispelling misinformation" is basically filled with, well, misinformation. Here is my opinion. 
1. John Connolly was the top at-large vote getter in 2009. He probably would have again in 2011, but he chose to pool resources with Ayanna Pressley, who was in danger of losing seat. You can read more about it here: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/10/16/tough_city_council_race_gives_rise_to_rare_alliance/I think it was big of him to do that, and it paid off. Ayanna's been a great city councilor.
I first saw John Connolly at the Brighton candidates' forum in 2009. More so than anything he said that night, I was impressed by how he treated his fellow candidates, most of which were running for the first time. The moderator was being very aggressive, asking gotcha questions about really specific Brighton stuff. John himself had only been on the council for 2 years, but he stood up for the other candidates and brought the debate back up to a level that was about the important issues. He didn't have to; he could have let his opponents deal with a tough situation. But he did the right thing, and that's what I remember most about him.
2. John Connolly calls himself the education candidate, and I think he makes a pretty good case for it. He was a teacher in NYC and at a public charter school in Boston. His daughter goes to a BPS Level 4 turnaround school in Roxbury. He was the chair of the education committee on City Council. He opposed a teacher's union contract not because he doesn't like teachers but because it didn't do anything about the length of the school day in Boston, which is one of the shortest of any city in America. He stopped the schools from serving expired food to kids. He worked with parents to fix the school lottery. 
Now, let's talk about charters. There have been reputable studies showing that kids in Boston charter are doing better than their counterparts in public schools. There is a waiting list to get into the charter schools we have, indicating that parents want this option. Most of the other candidates are in favor of raising the charter school cap, but the teacher's union has decided to pick on John Connolly because he has the best chance of winning. Heck, even Marty Walsh, who's entire campaign is bankrolled by big labor, is in favor of charter schools. 
I'm a parent of a a baby now, and don't really care whether the public school she goes to is a traditional one or a charter or a pilot or whatever. I want it to be a good school, preferably close to home. I think, based on his record, I think John is best qualified to make that happen by the time my baby is ready for school. If that's not being the education candidate, then I don't know what that term means.
3. People need to get the facts straight on this Stand for Children thing. This is an outside group that vetted ALL the field and had 3 finalist for an endorsement. Now, last time I checked, an endorsement by a group means that a group likes a candidate the best out of the field. It doesn't mean that that candidate shares all the positions of that group, or vice versa. John got endorsed, he said thanks, and then the next day wakes up to a story that this group is going to spend half a million dollars for him. So he did the right thing: he told them not to do it, and they said fine. And then he said the same thing to another group that had been canvassing for him. 
I'm follow the campaign on twitter, and I see the nasty things that people are still saying about this, and all this talk from other candidates about a pledge. It's really easy to say you won't take money from outside groups when no one is offering! Well, an outside group did offer John Connolly a whole lot of money, and he said no. He's the only one. When he did that, it reminded me of when I first saw him in 2009. I thought he did the right thing.
Marty Walsh is getting hundreds of thousands of dollars from outside groups and labor -- $175,000 for TV commercials! -- and no one is saying anything about that. I pay taxes here. I don't want a mayor who got elected thanks to labor being the one to negotiate contracts with labor unions. That's just a terrible idea. I don't have problem with unions, and I love teachers. My parents were both teachers. But that doesn't mean I want the union running City Hall. 4. You might not want to believe that John Connolly is a front runner, but he has been at the top of two polls now. It's a very crowded field and anything could happen, but just look at all the time and effort that the other campaigns are spending trying to cut him down. They wouldn't bother if he wasn't ahead of them. All these campaigns have pollsters; they know what's going on. As for him getting early, I think that speaks volumes about him. He was the only candidate with the courage to get in before Mayor Menino decided not to run. I love Mayor Menino, but he's very old and it's time for a new mayor. And I like the idea of electing someone who had the courage to go first. 
So you are entitled to your opinion, absolutely, but please do not pretend that you're "dispelling misinformation" about a candidate when all you are doing is spreading another candidate's misinformation for them.