THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, September 4, 2020 Page 3 Giannino wins Democratic State Rep. primary By Adam Swift C ouncillor-at-Large Jessica Ann Giannino cruised to victory Tuesday night in the Democratic primary to replace RoseLee Vincent as the state representative in the 16th Suffolk District. Giannino outpaced Joe Gravellese, a former aide to Mayor Brian Arrigo, by about a 60-40 margin across the district, which comprises a large chunk of Revere and portions of Chelsea and Saugus. On the Republican side of the ballot, Philip Russo mounted a write-in campaign for the representative seat. Write-in votes were being hand-counted across the district to see if he garnered the 150 necessary to appear on the November general election ballot. Unofficial results on primaUNITED 2035 | from page 1 18-month mission to update the plan with a “Kick-Off Visioning Forum” for the project called “Saugus United 2035” on Sept. 15 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. The Town’s project consultant, the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission (MAPC), will assist the Town in conducting the online forum via Zoom videoconferencing. Registration is required and more information on how to participate can be found at https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J9RJ-d6mTeyRCLzX9-Otqg. “It’s something many of us talked about during the campaign,” Selectman Debra Panetta said at Tuesday (Sept. 1) night’s meeting of the Board of Selectmen. “There are so many different ideas out there, and this is the place to voice these opinions,” she said. Updating the Town’s Master Plan was a cornerstone campaign issue for the board’s Vice Chair, Corinne Riley, and was one that was embraced by each of the board members last year. During a Special Town Meeting a year ago, the 50-member ry night showed Giannino defeating Gravellese 3,093 to 2,017. Across the district, AP results showed Giannino prevailing 3,770 to 2,396. “I don’t have words for how grateful I am and how truly overwhelmed by the amount of support and kindness people have shown myself and my family over the past few months,” said Giannino during an interview on RevereTV late on election night. “For years, the 16th Suffolk District has been represented by strong women who knew how to get things done,” Giannino said. “They have been in leadership at the State House and given a new generation of elected officials a lot to live up to.” Gravellese said he spoke to both Giannino and Vincent body approved a $150,000 appropriation from free cash to fund Article 5 for the upgrading and completion of a townwide Master Plan – something last done in 1988. “At this forum, we will discuss where we are as a community, where we want to go and how we’re going to get there,” Crabtree said. “Over the next year and a half, we’ll define a vision, goals and recommendations to guide Saugus over the next 15 years,” he said. “When completed, Saugus United 2035 will aid the town in protecting environmental resources, setting priorities for developing, maintaining infrastructure and public facilities, creating a framework for future land use policy decisions, promoting open democratic planning and providing guidance to land owners, developers and permitting authorities.” After the event, there will be an online open house where Saugus residents and officials will be able to provide feedback through the end of October, according to a statement issued recently by the Town Manager’s Office. Revere Election Commissioner Diane Colella tallies votes on election night at City Hall. after the votes came in to let them know he’s ready to help on shared policy interests with them. “I’m incredibly grateful Looking ahead 15 years The Master Plan will build upon the community’s vision and recent planning studies to propose strategies and recommend implementation actions to guide the Town in investing in its future and working toward its goals for 2035. “The town-wide plan will work to include goals and policies for that 2,200 people voted for me,” said Gravellese. “When I got into the race, I didn’t think that that many people would vote.” Election Commissioner Diane Colella said over 6,000 of Revere’s 29,218 voters took advantage of mail-in ballots, absentee ballots, or early voting. Colella said that even with the large number of early ballots, the polls were still busy throughout the day on Tuesday. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, election night had a different feel on Tuesday night, as few candidates were spotted at City Hall, and the election staff took over the City Council Chambers to check in the ballot boxes. Still, election workers began taping the familiar vote tally strips to what stakeholders want to see happen with land use, housing, economic development, natural/cultural resources, open space, recreation and transportation,” Crabtree said. Crabtree stressed the importance of the Town pursuing smart growth in order to sustain a full-service community and balance the impact of dethe wall outside the Chambers shortly after 8 p.m., and all the precincts were accounted for by 9:30 p.m. In other contested races, Terrence Kennedy outpaced challenger Helina Fontes, 4,225 to 2,142, in Revere in the Democratic Governor’s Council race, and Felix Arroyo got 5,226 votes to 1,120 for Kerby Roberson in the Democratic Clerk of Probate primary. Senator Ed Markey turned back a challenge from Representative Joseph Kennedy III statewide, but Kennedy was the choice of Revere voters by a small margin, 3,667 to 3,583. Revere voters followed the state lead in the Republican Senate primary, with Kevin O’Connor taking 838 votes to Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai’s 614. velopment while taking into account strategies to manage future growth in development, protect environmental resources, set priorities for developing/ maintaining infrastructure, create a framework for future policy decisions and provide guidance to landowners and develUNITED 2035 | SEE PAGE 10 Honoring the invaluable contributions of workers to our community and our country.
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