BOSTON -- As Boston voters prepare to head to the polls, meet John Connolly, a candidate for Boston City Council.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that Connolly is 32 years old, with degrees from Harvard and Boston College. Connolly married a couple of years ago.

Connolly was breathing politics before he could talk. His father is the former secretary of state. His mother is the chief justice of the district courts. Yet, he says it wasn't his family that motivated him to run.

"Really what's prompted me to run is watching friend after friend put their for sale sign up because they can't afford to stay in the city," he said.

Last month, he surprised political insiders by placing third in a primary that winnows the number of candidates to eight. Since then, he's been playing defensive politics -- with the police unions attacking him for supporting the residency requirement and some opponents questioning his views. He handles it with fire and humor.

Connolly, who taught in New York City and Boston schools before becoming an attorney, said that his No. 1 issue is education.

"I think expanding after-school programs to make sure every child doesn't stop learning at 2 p.m., and can learn throughout the whole school day, is a way to enhance a child's learning on the whole and also a way to address the achievement gap for those children who've fallen behind," he said.

He hopes to reform Boston's tax system.

"We are overly relying on a property tax. We need to look to colleges and universities to pick up financial slacks. We need to close tax loopholes out there that give corporations big breaks," Connolly said. "There are colleges and universities that pay the bare minimum or don't make a payment at all."

Connolly has raised more money for the race then any other at-large candidate. He plans to start running TV ads next week.