I’ll have more on this in the coming days, including some more polls, but ladies and gentlemen, the following candidates made today’s deadline to qualify for the ballot to run in the special election for State Rep in the 12th House District.
There will be both a Republican and a Democratic primary on March 5, followed by the final election on April 2.
Dave Gravel, unenrolled, on final ballot
Democrat James Moutsoulos
Democrat Beverley Griffin Dunne
Republican Greg Bunn
Republican Leah Cole
It may be an unwinnable situation and a little too late, but it’s good to see that Peabody Mayor Ted Bettencourt is petitioning Governor Deval Patrick for the right to appoint an interim replacement for deceased State Representative Joyce Spilliotis.
The Mayor wants to ensure that, until a new rep is seated following the April 2nd special election, Peabody has its fair share of representation on Beacon Hill. The problem is that there is no precedent or law giving a mayor such powers to appoint, and it might end up taking an executive order from Patrick to allow this.
Bettencourt appointing an interim rep presents another potential sticky situation: Although Mayor of Peabody, he doesn’t even live in the open seat’s 12th Essex House District. A Ward 6 resident, Bettencourt is represented on Beacon Hill by Ted Spelliotis.
The Mayor says he would only appoint as the interim someone who is not running in the special election. So far, Democrats Beverley Dunne and James Moutsoulas, unenrolled candidate David Gravel, and Republicans Greg Bunn and Leah Cole have pulled nomination papers to run for the right to complete the final 19 months of Spilliotis’ term. The deadline for returning their petitions with at least 150 qualified signatures is Tuesday, Jan. 22. The 12thEssex seat represents Peabody Wards 1-4, and precincts 1 and 3 in Ward 5.
Let me know what you think in the comments section, and be sure to take our poll.
Gregory Bunn
Been hoping for some new candidates?
Well, it looks like you’ll get some, and as a result, we could now have a race on the Republican side in the special election to replace Joyce Spilliotis for the 12th Essex State House seat.
Both Gregory Bunn and Leah Cole, who haven’t run for office in Peabody before, have pulled nomination papers. If they each get 150 qualified signatures by Jan. 22, there will be a Republican primary fight on March 5, with the winner going on to the final election ballot on April 2.
Bunn, a Ward 5 resident, is part of the management team for the North Shore Career Centers. He is a former social worker with the Department of Mental Health.
Not many details on Cole yet, but Bunn has set up a Facebook page.
More details here from a story in today’s Patch.
And … there’s still time to pull papers for additional candidates who might be interested. To be eligible, you must live in Peabody Wards 1-4, or Ward 5, Precinct 1 or 3.
Word on the street is that the former holder of this seat, attorney John Slattery, might be the next to jump in on the Democratic side, which already includes declared candidates Beverley Griffin Dunne and James Moutsoulas.
Councilor At-Large David Gravel will be on the final ballot with no party affiliation, since he’s seeking the office as an unenrolled candidate.
