The make-up of the City Council changed in Tuesday’s City Election, bringing on new voices that are calling for a change in the way things are done at City Hall.
Leading as the change agent was candidate Gerly Adrien, who in her first run for Council topped the at-large ticket, besting perennial ticket-topper Councilor Wayne Matewsky by two votes.
Councilor Michael Marchese finished in a strong third place, just 77 votes behind Adrien and Matewsky.
Veteran Councilor John Hanlon finished fourth just behind Marchese by 18 votes. The field was rounded out by Councilor Peter Napolitano, who more than 100 votes behind the pack.
That left out one incumbent, which surprisingly, was Council President Rich Dell Isola, who was out of the money by 123 votes.
Adrien said she was very excited and it showed the people wanted the kind of changes at City Hall that she’s been talking about on the campaign trail.
“I want to thank everyone, especially my husband (David Lindsey) and my family,” she said. “I’m so excited and can’t wait to begin serving everyone on the City Council. For everyone who thought I couldn’t do it, this shows the community wanted it.”
In the ward races, the biggest surprise was the red-hot campaign in Ward 6, which featured Councilor Michael McLaughlin against Al Lattanzi. The campaign was heavily influenced by the Mayor’s Office, with the mayor supporting his long-time friend Lattanzi. However, it didn’t help on the vote count with McLaughlin winning every precinct in the city and beating Lattanzi by 872 votes.
“I am overwhelmed and grateful for the show of support I have been given,” said McLaughlin. “I promise to always be the voice for the people of Everett. I also promise to always work my hardest and make Everett proud.”
In Ward 2, Candidate Stephanie Martins prevailed over Candidate Jason Marcus by 524 votes.
“It takes a village,” she said. “It’s the power of us, every person. The Everett people who walked for hours in this campaign, made the phone calls to voters. I’m happy to say I ran a positive campaign. I’m excited to serve.”
In Ward 5, Councilor Rosa DiFlorio prevailed over Candidate Vivian Nguyen. DiFlorio won every precinct except for 5-2, which votes at City Hall.
Ward 4 Candidate Jimmy Tri Le prevailed easily over a write-in challenger, winning by more than 2,300 votes.
Ward 1 Fred Capone and Ward 3 Anthony DiPierro were unopposed and grabbed a good vote total.
On the School Committee, things stayed pretty much the same despite some really intense races. However, with two vacancies in the at-large race, there were some new faces winning – and adding to that long-time Ward 4 Committeeman David Ela Jr. lost to newcomer Dana Murray, who didn’t campaign very much at all.
In the at-large race, Committeewoman Millie Cardello topped the ticket, and Candidate Cynthia Sarnie (a former City Councilor) finished 39 votes behind her. Candidate Samantha Lambert finished third nearly 700 votes behind the top two.
Ward 4 provided a surprise with Murray beating Committeeman Ela by more than 700 votes. Ela has been on the Committee some time, and has been a key member of the Budget and Finance Committee.
Murray is a schoolteacher at East Boston High School, and said she was very happy to be given a chance.
“I want to say I really appreciate the voters of Everett that wanted to take a chance on someone new,” she said. “I look forward to serving the families and children of Everett. I’m a mother and an educator, so I understand. It’s very shocking.”
In Ward 1, Committeeman Allen Panarese easily beat Candidate Edgar Ruiz. In Ward 2, Committeeman Joe LaMonica cruised to a win over Thomas Messina. A heated race in Ward 3 resulted in an easy win for Committeeman Frank Parker over Candidate Robert Santacroce. In Ward 6, Chair Tom Abruzzese scored a victory over John Mavilio Jr. Ward 5 Committeeman Marcony Almeida-Barros was unopposed, but collected a good vote.
The overall voter turnout was 25 percent, with 4,969 ballots cast – which is about what City Clerk Sergio Cornelio predicted.