Page 2 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAy, JAnUARy 23, 2026 ELECTION 2026 | FROM PAGE 1 “His attention to performative politics rather than working to get substantive results doesn’t fit well with me. The people of the 9th District deserve better than that. I felt compelled to become part of what fixes this,” she said. “The biggest issue that I want to focus on is affordability – something that affects everyone around the district in Lynn, Saugus and Wakefield – affordability, especially with the housing crisis. My daughter is 19 and she can’t afford an apartment. It’s about helping young adults. It’s also about helping our older residents,” she said. VanMeter said she believes the concept of affordability clashes with what Wong’s family is attempting to do with the Kowloon Restaurant property – “developing it into luxury apartments, which is in opposition to the housing needs of constituents, while contributing to the overdevelopment of Route 1.” Future policies affecting WIN Waste Innovations’ trash-to-energy plant on Route 107 in Saugus and its adjacent ash landfill are of great conTHE ASPIRING CANDIDATE: Lynn’s Inspectional Division Director, Zosia VanMeter, in the early stages of her campaign to take over state Rep. Donald Wong’s (R-Saugus) 9th Essex District House seat. (Courtesy photo of Ferns Francois) Valentine's Special SAVE OVER $100!!! Buy three colors or highlights and get the 4th FREE! Includes cut and blow dry Located inside of Clickers Hair Salon 960 Broadway, Revere ACCEPTING NEW CLIENTS! CALL 857-310-7872 Payments accepted: card, cash, venmo Offer expires to Jan. 14, 2026 Over 30 years experience cern to the 9th Essex House District. But VanMeter said she doesn’t think that Wong is representing his constituents well on that issue. She said she opposes farther expansion of the ash landfill and wants to see it closed when it reaches its capacity. “I support and will continue to support policy changes and legislation to bring the Wheelabrator plant in line with current compliance,” she said. She advocates creating a committee of stakeholders who are well-versed to talk about issues related to the plant. “I don’t know what the ideal solution is,” VanMeter said. “It’s going to take a lot of conversation and a lot of planA FAMILY EVENT: Zosia VanMeter with her husband, Jacob VanMeter, and their daughter, Laura, at her 2025 graduation from Lynn English High School. (Courtesy photo to The Saugus Advocate) ning. This would be a big undertaking – something that would need to be done in phases,” she said. She considers Lynn her hometown VanMeter was born in the Philippines in 1986. She was adopted and later moved to the United States when she was about two years old. “I settled down in Lynn and consider it my hometown,” said VanMeter, a 2004 graduate of Lynn English High School. VanMeter graduated from North Shore Community College in August 2022 with an associate’s degree in liberal arts. She has been working on her bachelor’s degree at Salem State University, in Political Science with a concentration in American Government, Law and Policy. She moved to other parts of the North Shore, living in Beverly for one year and in Danvers for five years. But she moved back to Lynn, where she became very involved in the community through her volunteer work and work with nonprofit organizations. VanMeter has a 19-year-old daughter, Laura, from her first marriage. She graduated last year from Lynn English High School and is currently a student at UMass Lowell. VanMeter is married to Jacob VanMeter, a real estate agent with The Drumlin Group of Salem. On her campaign website (https://www.electzvm.com/ meet-zosia), VanMeter recalls growing up on the North Shore in a poor family. “We were dependent upon the generosity of neighbors and charities at the start of every school year, needed oil assistance every winter, and my summers were spent at my mother’s hair salon rather than on playdates or camping trips,” she recalled. “For my entire young childI saw the struggles hood, of a single mother, up close and personal, doing her best to hold her family together with scarred hands and tired eyes; and when my daughter ELECTION 2026 | SEE PAGE 3
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