Mayoral Election – Everett Leader Herald

Primary decision – Vote

SEPTEMBER 12: Mayoral candidate Gerly Adrien waves to passing cars on Glendale Street. (Photo by Jim Mahoney)

September 21 is Primary day, cast a ballot, it’s your right, select 2 candidates

By JOSH RESNEK

Barring the unforeseen consequences of last-minute revelations and surprises, very little the candidates do at this point will change many hearts and minds of enough voters to make a difference next Tuesday.

Most of the voters who will come out have already made up their minds.

All three mayoral candidates have identified their respective votes.

The job of them getting them all to vote in next Tuesday’s primary is what matters most.

On Tuesday night at about 8:30 p.m., the city’s voters will have chosen the finalists for the November election.

This is to say, about 5,200 to 5,500 of the city’s estimated 23,000 registered voters will decide who is running in the November election.

Who will it be?

Will it be the mayor and Gerly Adrien?

Will it be the mayor and Fred Capone?

Will it be Adrien and Capone?

What matters most about the final outcome on September 21 is who scores the biggest vote and how close was the second-place finisher?

Addressing our Neglected Business Partners

SEPT 6: Mayoral candidate Freed Capone in an ice cream truck at a campaign stop. (Courtesy photo)

Thriving local business is a vital part of a vibrant community. A city must support its business community, especially small businesses, to help them succeed. Successful local merchants provide services, jobs, and internship opportunities for our residents. Local goods and services reduce the need to travel outside the city and the reliance upon automobiles. Successful businesses draw customers from outside Everett to spend their money in Everett, are better able to meet their tax obligations to the city, and generate more revenue to address our city’s needs. Many don’t realize that commercial tax rates are well over 2x the residential rate.

Successful businesses are even better neighbors and have more incentive to give back to the community. All 3 mayoral candidates operate businesses; however, I am the only candidate that operates my business in Everett. Michele and I donate extensively within our community to charitable organizations, food pantries, sports programs, tutoring programs, clothing drives and have provided annual academic/vocational scholarships for the past 23 years. However, our business community has been neglected for too long.

Numbers game intensifies

Three weeks to Primary Day for Adrien, Capone, DeMaria

By JOSH RESNEK

All three candidates are hustling for votes down to the wire as the most contested mayoral race in 20 years is about to likely change the face of politics here when the votes are counted on September 21.

With three weeks remaining before the primary, all three candidates remain engaged in their campaign efforts which are, for the most part, relentless.

Our sources tell us that the vote is close between the mayor and Gerly Adrien.

Those candidates have been counting votes as they go door to door and while soliciting voter’s interest.

“She is very, very close to him in terms of total vote and he knows it,” a source close to the Adrien campaign told the Leader Herald.

Local political observers who claim to know believe Gerly Adrien’s vote and Capone’s, whatever it is, will make it impossible for the mayor to capture 50% of the total primary vote.

Public Safety Should Always be a Top Priority

Public Safety is central to the well-being of a community and its residents. Every resident should feel safe and respected.

Until just recently, Everett failed to hire any firefighters since 2016, despite more than 25 members leaving the Department, the addition of a casino, a hotel, and numerous large-scale construction projects.

This failure to properly staff in order to address the increased risks put both firefighters and members of our community at greater risk. Additionally, failure to hire members during attrition resulted in the lost institutional knowledge more senior members could have shared.

By the time these new members were hired, those members with 30 or more years of experience on the job already left. Extensive experience and invaluable mentorship possibilities vanished. This wasted opportunity should never be allowed to happen again.

Moreover, when a Department is understaffed, as Everett was, we don’t qualify for grants to cover the cost of additional firefighter personnel. The inability to receive free funding for firefighters is another wasted opportunity that should never happen again.

No clear leader in three person field

By JOSH RESNEK

All three mayoral candidates continued relentless campaigning over the weekend and into the new week with renewed efforts.

The door-to-door visitations and visibilities with sign holders in the city’s squares have reached epic proportions.

The candidates quite often cross one another’s paths as they go about the task of reaching out to the city’s voters.

All three are looking for promises.

The mayor, we are told repeatedly by voters approached by him, is making promises

Only two candidates are going to receive votes in enough quantities to gain a place for the final in November.

One of the three candidates is going to be deeply disappointed.

The mayor is being chased and followed by candidates Gerly Adrien and Fred Capone as the drumbeat intensifies before the primary set for September 21.