Galluccio wins state Senate seat vacated by Barrios
A year after he withdrew as a candidate for state Senate in the name of party unity, Cambridge City Councilor Anthony D. Galluccio won a vacant Senate seat yesterday in a special primary election.
Galluccio, a former Cambridge School Committee chairman in his fourth legislative campaign, said his priority in the Senate would be improving education and working on other issues related to youth.
"I've focused much of my adult life working on conditions for children," Galluccio said in an interview. "There isn't a facet of education that I'm not really interested in improving."
Four Democrats were vying for the Middlesex-Suffolk-Essex Senate seat left vacant when Jarrett T. Barrios quit in May to take over as president and chief executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation.
No Republicans were on the ballot yesterday, so Galluccio will run unopposed in a special general election scheduled for Oct. 9.
With all 24 precincts reporting in Boston and Cambridge, Galluccio led Timothy R. Flaherty, a Cambridge lawyer, 1,933 to 1,389, according to unofficial results. Voters also went to the polls in Saugus, Everett, Somerville, Chelsea, and Revere. A complete tally of unofficial results compiled by Galluccio campaign workers, showed he led Flaherty 4,388 to 2,232.
The other candidates were Jeff Ross, a lawyer from Cambridge, and eight-term City Councilor Paul Nowickiof Chelsea.
Flaherty conceded the race to Galluccio last night, said Flaherty's spokeswoman Dorie Clark.
"I am disappointed in the results of the election, but very proud of the campaign we ran," Flaherty said in a statement provided by Clark. "I congratulate Anthony Galluccio on his victory and look forward to working with him in the future to improve the lives of residents in the district."
Galluccio, 40, was mayor of Cambridge in 2000 and 2001. He lost a bid for state representative in 1996. In 2002, he lost to Barrios in a three-way primary race for the Senate.
Last year, he withdrew before the election and endorsed Barrios when the incumbent decided to seek reelection rather than run for district attorney.
In addition to education issues, Galluccio said he would work to expand healthcare, protect the environment, and improve public housing. 