McGonagle Crushes Marchese in Primary House Rep Race

By Neil Zolot

Incumbent Joseph McGonagle defeated Councillor-at-Large Michael Marchese 1,478 to 704 in the state Democratic Party primary for the 28th Middlesex County District seat in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 3. “The residents have spoken once again,” McGonagle said at a small victory party at his home near City Hall. “We have a proven track record.”

He also thanked his campaign supporters and volunteers. “They believe in what we do,” he said.

Given there was no race in the Republican Party primary, the win reelects McGonagle to the seat, leaving the General Election in November as a formality. “The campaign never stops until November,” said McGonagle.

In other races Senator Elizabeth Warren ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, receiving 1,967 votes. In the Republican Senate primary, statewide winner John Deaton received 261 votes, Robert Antonellis, 230, and Ian Cain, 34. For Congressman for the 7th District, incumbent Ayanna Pressley ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, receiving 1,846 votes, tantamount to reelection since there was no race in the Republican Party. Incumbent Middlesex and Suffolk County State Senator Sal DiDomenico ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, receiving 2,065 votes, with no race in the Republican primary, and Terence Kennedy ran unopposed for the Massachusetts Governor’s Council 6th District seat in the Democratic primary, receiving 1,948 votes, with no race in the Republican primary.

Small parts of Everett are in the 11th Suffolk County District represented by Judith Garcia in the state House of Representatives, which includes sections of Everett near Chelsea and Revere, mainly Ward 1. She received 31 votes in the Democratic primary with no race in the Republican primary. Other small sections of the City are represented by Daniel Ryan in the 2nd Suffolk District, which includes sections of Everett near the Malden River, mainly Ward 6. He received 36 votes in the Democratic primary, with no race in the Republican primary.

In the Democratic primary for Middlesex County Register of Deeds, Maria Curtatone received 1,899 votes, with no race in the Republican primary. In the Democratic primary for Middlesex County Clerk of Courts, Michael Sullivan received 1,893 votes, with no race in the Republican primary.

There were no candidates in any races in the Libertarian Party primary.

Only 3,075 out of 23,299 registered voters voted: 13.1%. “There was low turnout, pretty much what I figured,” City Clerk Sergio Cornelio said.

“It was expected to be slow and it has been,” Ward 4, Precinct 1 Precinct Warden Larry Arinello said at the polls in the Lafayette School. Precinct Wardens at the Whittier Housing complex, the Parlin School and in City Hall also reported slow going, which seems typical for Everett, at least in recent elections. In the municipal primary in September 2023, about 12% of voters voted, followed by nearly 20% in the final election in November, but only 12.5% of voters voted in the presidential primary in March 2024.

Presumably the turnout will be greater in November. Presidential elections have garnered more votes, up to 70% of registered voters,” Cornelio said.

“November will probably be crazy with all the hype in a presidential race,” Ward 1, Precinct 1 Precinct Warden Ruthie Dottin speculated from Whittier.

“It should be busy in November,” Arinello agreed.

“The presidential election is the only time a lot of people vote,” Ward 5, Precinct 2 in City Hall Precinct Warden Linda Shedden added. “It’s hard to get people to come to vote for one race.”

In this election, mail-in and pre-election ballots were sent to the precincts for tabulation. It was less than 80 per precinct. “They’re usually processed at City Hall, but not during this election,” Arinello said. “We processed them here.”

“Historically we sent them to the precincts before establishing central tabulation at City Hall, but I had no Election Director to handle it this time,” Cornelio explained. “On a slow day, it gives the poll workers a task, but we’re going to try to go back to tabulation at City Hall in November.”

“It was slow so we had plenty of time to get them done,” Shedden reported.

McGonagle was first elected to his seat in 2014, defeating current Ward 1 Councillor Wayne Matewsky and Cornelio, among others. Matewsky was elected to the seat in 2013 in a Special Election to fill out the term previously held by Steven “Stat” Smith, father of current Councillor-at-Large Stephanie Smith, who delivered Ward 2 ballots to City Hall primary night.

Matewsky served as State Rep. and City Councillor for the rest of 2013. “If there’s less than 6 months left in a City Councillor’s term, it doesn’t have to be filled, so I stayed to represent Ward 1,” he said.

Steven “Stat” Smith was a member of the Everett Board of Aldermen from 1994 to 1995 – in the days the City had a bicameral (two house) legislative system – and an unsuccessful candidate for Mayor in 1995, Alderman At-Large in 1997 and Ward 3 Alderman in 1999. From 2002 to 2003, he was a member of the Everett Common Council. In 2004 he ran for state representative, but lost to incumbent Edward Connolly in the Democratic primary. From 2006 to 2007, he served on the Board of Aldermen and was elected state representative in 2006.

On December 20, 2012, U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz announced that Smith had agreed to plead guilty to two misdemeanor counts of deprivation of rights under color of law for his role in a voter fraud scheme in which Smith cast absentee ballots for voters who were ineligible or unaware of ballots being cast in their names. It was announced that Smith would resign effective January 1, 2013. As part of his plea agreement, Smith was not allowed to run for public office for five years.

Marchese ran against McGonagle in 2022 in the General Election. This year he decided to run in the Democratic primary rather than as a Republican or Independent and wait until November, presumably to save time and money in campaigning for the seat. (McGonagle defeated current Councillor-at-Large Guerline Alcy Jabouin in the Democratic primary that year. She was at City Hall on September 3 awaiting the results.)

The prevailing opinion was McGonagle would win easily. He called Marchese a “well respected city official” and noted “everybody has a right to run.”