Six Compete for Open Seat in 8th Essex
Updated: Sep 4, 2022
By Dustin Luca, Staff Writer for The Salem News | September 1st, 2022
Note: These are a few excerpts from the original article. To read the full article, go to https://salemnews-cnhi.newsmemory.com/?token=dabe12c8ba2dfc775b257589c78e1c7a_630f63ed_18a97c4
A six-way race to represent Marblehead, Swampscott, and part of Lynn at the Statehouse, will yield that district’s new lawmaker on Tuesday as a half-dozen Democrats go head-to-head. The winner will not have a Republican challenger in November.
Voters across those three communities will vote Tuesday, Sept. 6, in the primary election for the Eighth Essex district in the House of Representatives to elect a successor to Lori Ehrlich, who stepped down earlier this year after her appointment as a regional administrator with FEMA. In addition to the two towns, the districts includes Precinct 4 in Ward 3 and Ward 4 in Lynn, which is due to recent redistricting of the House.
The Democratic ballot Tuesday features Marblehead residents Jenny Armini, 8 Russel St.; Diann Slavit Baylis, 39 Ticehurst Lane; and Theresa “Terri” Tauro, 113 Jersey St. From Swampscott, it’s Tristan Smith, 376 Humphrey St.; Doug Thompson, 59 Winshaw Road; and Polly Titcomb, 53 Burpee Road.
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Baylis, an immigration attorney, said her experience navigating clients through “a very complicated bureaucracy” serves her well for the position of state representative.
“There’s a lot of work to do on issues, and I feel I have the experience, skills, and passion it takes to get the job done,” Baylis said. “One of the most important jobs of being a state representative is constituent services, where I’ll navigate my constituents through the bureaucracy of state government.”
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All six candidates were asked to outline the biggest issue in their district that requires a solution at the state level and how they’d rally their new colleagues on Beacon Hill to deliver results.
Baylis: “In this coastal district, there’s no greater threat to our quality of life and local economy than climate change. We need to address this problem with urgency.” Growing up in Haverhill, Baylis said she understood how vital the Merrimack River was to the city, “and how closely it was tied to industry such as fishing, tourism and recreation. I see the same similarities here in how the ocean and beaches in this region impact this district’s economy.”
Luca, Dustin. “Six Compete for Open Seat in 8th Essex.” The Salem News. The Salem News, September 1, 2022. https://salemnews-cnhi.newsmemory.com/token=dabe12c8ba2dfc775b257589c78e1c7a_630f63ed_18a97c4.