Challenger’s upset bid falls short
Voters give DeMaria 6th term, 210 separated candidates, City Council has new faces
By JOSH RESNEK
Mayor Carlo DeMaria held off a bold bid by Councilor Fred Capone defeating him by 210 votes in a hotly contested mayoral election.
DeMaria received 51.18% of the vote to Capone’s 48.30%.
DeMaria’s vote total was 3,735 to Capone’s 3,525.
The incumbent mayor is about to enter his 15th year at city hall as the city’s leader had said he could not be beaten and that he will be the mayor forever.
He won 8 out of 12 precincts in gaining a hard-fought victory.
He sealed his victory with strong showings in Wards 5 and 6.
Councilor-at-Large
Mike Marchese revealed widespread popularity.
He topped the ticket on the tail of a strong anti-DeMaria platform.
Marchese received 3,402 votes.
Former mayor and city clerk, Councilor at-Large John Hanlon came in second with 3,248 votes – a very strong showing once again for the longtime city hall political personality.
Stephanie Smith, a young wife, mother, and businessperson, the daughter of former
Representative State Smith, had a successful showing.
She came in third with 3,243 votes.
Her future would appear to be bright.
Councilor-at-Large Richard Dell Isola was returned to his at-large seat with a vote of
2,104.
The fifth and final at-large finisher was Irene Cardillo with 1,987 votes.
She beat out Guerline Alcy, a first-timer running at large, by 41 votes.
Alcy received 1,946 votes.
Jimmy Mastrocola, from the well-known local family, scored 1,839 votes. Not a bad first time out showing.
City Council Ward 3
First-timer Darren Costa was beaten soundly by the incumbent and cousin to the mayor, Anthony DiPierro.
DiPierro received 791 votes to Costa’s 428.
City Council Ward 4
Jimmy Tri Le, as expected, defeated Holly Garcia.
Tri Le received 754 votes to Garcia’s 461.
For Tri Le, it was proof of his rising popularity in his reward.
City Council Ward 5
Vivian Nguyen drubbed longtime councilor Rosa DiFlorio, sending the ardent supporter of the mayor into political retirement.
Nguyen, who will be the youngest city councilor – she is 21 and a student at Babson College – ran an impressive campaign to defeat DiFlorio.
City Council Ward 5
The second time around for Alfred Lattanzi was the charm in his run against Ross Pietrantonio.
Lattanzi, perhaps the mayor’s closest friend, and political associate scored 737 votes to Pietrantonio’s 385.
This was a big victory for Lattanzi, who will be joining the Council to aid the mayor.
Councilors without races
Council President Wayne Matewsky and Stephanie Martins scored big votes without opposition.
Matewsky received 691 votes. Martins received 772 votes.
School Committee at-Large
The top three finishers in the School Committee at Large race were, in this order: Cynthia Sarnie.
She scored 2,997 and topped the ticket by a substantial margin finishing number one.
The second finisher was Samantha Lambert with 2,584 votes.
This was a powerful political outing for Lambert whose position of influence on the
School Committee has been rising.
Third place finisher Joseph LaMonica showed typical strength among the pack.
He scored 2,503.
Margaret Cornelio, the mother of City Clerk Sergio Cornelio performed remarkably well considering the mayor and his forces worked against her.
She got a total vote of 2,494.
There are 3 at-large School Committee seats.
School Committee Ward 2
Jason Marcus is back.
In a great showing, the longtime local politician beat out Caitlin Steinberg, 492 – 468.
His return to local politics is a stunning comeback for Marcus – one of the bestknown people in the city.
School Committee Ward 3
Jeannie Cristiano, the city’s able Veterans Agent, a very popular one at that, defeated Samantha MC Hurley 598-569.
This was a surprisingly close race with Cristiano who is one of the city’s bestknown political personalities – and for many, many years.
For Hurley, the race was a bitter defeat. She came so close.
School Committee Ward 4
Council Secretary Mike Mangan scored a victory over incumbent Dana Murray.
Mangan got 637 votes to Murray’s 506.
It is a sweet win for Mangan and a difficult defeat for Murray.
School Committee Ward 5
Incumbent Marcony Almeida-Barros scored the biggest vote of any ward candidate in the city in both City Council and School Committee races.
His vote was 806.
For Almeida-Barros, this marks a high water mark in his political career and points approvingly to his rising profile on the School Committee.
School Committee Ward 6
Mike McLaughlin scored a victory over longtime local politician Kate Hicks.
McLaughlin received 603 votes to Hick 522.
McLaughlin’s transition from council to School Committee has been accomplished.