Page 8 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2022 SLIM PICKINGS | FROM PAGE 1 A “free ride” for Saugus delegation All three members of the Saugus legislative delegation face no opposition in the fall election. “The pickings are really slim,” said longtime Saugus Republican Town Committee Chair Jim Harrinton, who has chaired the town Republican Party all but three years since 1989. “It’s one of the few times we’ve had few choices. I can’t recall an election with fewer choices,” Harrington said. Why aren’t there a lot more choices of candidates running, particularly in the county and legislative races? “I think a lot of people in the Republican Par ty feel that even if they are well-qualified, they’re just not going to win. We have a lot of good candidates with good values and they’re not going to win,” he said. “The main reason, I think, is that a lot of people have lost interest in going out and running. To put your head down, it takes a toll on your family, your wife and children. Running for office is a tremendous undertaking. It’s a sacrifice. You have to have a lot of fire in your belly to want to be a political candidate these days,” he said. Harrington noted “There a re a ton of reasons . COVID-19 may be part of it. A lot of people have soured on the Republican Party because of Donald Trump. He’s obviously a very polarizing figure. You either love him or loathe him,” he said. Harrington also blames biased media coverage about the Republican Party as a contributing factor. • • • OUR OFFICE HAS MOVED TO 519 BROADWAY, EVERETT SABATINO INSURANCE AGENCY 519 BROADWAY EVERETT, MA 02149 PHONE: (617) 387-7466 FAX: (617) 381-9186 Visit us online at: Rocco Longo, Owner WWW.SABATINO-INS.COM Domenic J. “Joe” Prisco Of Saugus, died on Monday, July 25th at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston at the age of 89,. He was the husband of the late Mary (Palumbo) Prisco. Born in Chelsea and raised in East Boston, Mr. Prisco was the son of the late Joseph A. and Quinta (Rappoli) Prisco. He was retired from the Department of Defense and was an U.S. Army Veteran of the Korean War. A resident of Saugus since 1964, Joe was a member of the Knights of Columbus in Saugus and of the ITAM in Beverly. Mr. Prisco is survived by his four children, Joseph Prisco and his wife Merideth of FL, Maria Prisco and her wife Tina of Stoneham, Steven Prisco and his wife Cheryl of NH and Cora Swimm and her husband Daniel of Danvers; seven grandchildren; eight great grandchil SAUGUS DEMOCRATIC COMMITTEE CHAIR JOE MALONE: “Seems like the Republican Party is really dying in the state. (Saugus Advocate file photo) “The media slams Republicans every chance they get,” he said. While Republican participation is waning, Harrington cites one race where local Democrats seem to have given up. “The Democrats don’t even bother challenging Donald Wong anymore because he’s going to win,” he said. The Democrats’ take on the ballot Saugus Democratic Town Committee Chair Joseph Malone calls it “a quiet year” as far as political participation goes. “Even when we went to the state Democratic convention, people felt Maura Healey had it wrapped up.” SAUGUS REPUBLICAN COMMITTEE CHAIR JIM HARRINGTON: “It’s one of the few times we’ve had few choices. I can’t recall an election with fewer choices.” (Saugus Advocate fi le photo) Healey’s Democratic challenger — Sonia Rosa ChangDíaz — apparently agrees with that assessment ChangDíaz is on the Democratic primary ballot. But, she’s withdrawn because she doesn’t believe she can win. Malone said he agrees with Harrington about some of the reasons that political interest has waned. “A lot of people who are fairly successful and would make good candidates don’t want to take the pay cut. And put themselves out there every two years to go through the scrutiny they go through,” Malone said. “Seems like the Republican Party is really dying in the state. They’re down to fi ve state senators. There’s a OBITUARIES lot more scrutiny than in the old days. I think it’s a stigma in Massachusetts now to carry the Republican Party label,” he said. “I can’t see any of the Republicans winning anything in the statewide or congressional races in Massachusetts this fall.. They’ll be lucky to hold onto whatever they have in the state Senate and House. Is this a sign of things to come? “I would say so,” Malone said. He’s “very surprised” that the Republicans can’t at least fi eld respectable candidates to run for offi ce. “I’m surprised that they can’t fi eld a Republican candidate to run for sheriff because former Sheriff Frank Cousins, a Republic Sheriff , held the job for years. They’ve pretty much given up on it,” he said. “It’s kind of surprising. There are some very affl uent towns in Essex County where you would think they would be able to fi eld some candidates. That shows how far their interest has waned. The Democrats are going to walk-in during the elections this fall, from Healy right on down the line.” As of this week, there are 20,637 registered voters in Saugus, according to the Town Clerk’s Office. That includes 13,152 unenrolled voters, 5,133 Democrats and 2,077 Republicans. dren; and his brother Anthony D. Prisco of AL. Relatives and friends gathered at the Bisbee-Porcella Funeral Home in Saugus followed by a funeral mass in Blessed Sacrament Church on Friday 29. Interment at Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden. In lieu of fl owers, donations in Joe’s memory may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital @stjude.org.
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