Brookline's Top Political Stories of 2011

Over the past year, the political scene has seen its shifts leading up to the 2012 election season. Brookline has not been left out of this, seeing its fair share of political stories. Here are the top five, selected in part by traffic:

1.  – May 18, 2011 – Following a fundraiser in the South End, President Obama came for dinner at the home of Jack Connors, in South Brookline. Although the police weren't giving out information about road closures, sightings came in by Twitter.
2.  – Dec. 15, 2011 – Herb Robinson, a contender for the Senate seat currently held by Scott Brown announced earlier this month that he was dropping out of the race, to run for the seat Barney Frank will vacate in 2012 (see next story).
3. – Nov 28, 2011 – The 4th District Congressman announced at the end of November that he planned to retire, in part because the changing districts meant a more difficult re-election campaign.
4. – Sep 14, 2011 – Coming into the Senate race comparatively late, Elizabeth Warren announced her plans to take Scott Brown's seat in the election.
5.  – Oct. 27, 2011 – Khazei pulled out of the primary, saying that it was time for him to drop out of the race, and congratulating Elizabeth Warren on "striking a chord with voters" since her announcement.