The race to fill departing state Representative Douglas W. Petersen's Eighth Essex seat is getting off to a quick start, with two candidates in place and others considering it.
House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi will schedule a special election to fill the seat, being vacated Nov. 26 by Petersen, a Marblehead Democrat who was appointed commissioner of the Department of Agricultural Resources, DiMasi's spokesman, David Guarino, said on Monday.
Guarino said that as soon as DiMasi receives a formal notice of resignation from Petersen, the speaker, in consultation with the secretary of state, would move to set a date for the vote.
The race is likely to generate interest since it is the first time the Eighth Essex seat has been open since 1990, when Petersen first won it. Whoever is elected will become only the third person to represent the district in nearly three decades. Petersen's predecessor, Marblehead Democrat Lawrence R. Alexander, served six terms.
Candidates are already emerging in the shoreline district, which includes Marblehead, Swampscott, and two Lynn precincts.
Marblehead Democrat and environmental advocate Lori Ehrlich announced her candidacy Nov. 7 at King's Beach on the Swampscott-Lynn line.
"I think I bring a fresh face to the Legislature and I can take a fresh look at the policy issues affecting the district," Ehrlich said in an interview. "And the State House is a very familiar place to me after 10 years of advocacy and working with four governors."
Marblehead Republican John Blaisdell, who retired this April as a Marblehead police officer, said that "Assuming the seat is vacated, yes, I am a candidate."
Blaisdell, who has also been an Essex County correctional officer and a court officer in the superior and district courts, said he would offer his experience gained from "years of public service," and "dealing with the public."
Others may yet join the field.
Swampscott Democrat and former selectman Reid J. Cassidy and Marblehead Republican Sharon Randall, who challenged Petersen in 2004, both said they are considering running.
"I am doing a lot of talking to people around me, seeing what the best option is at this point in time, basically seeing if it will work or won't work," said Cassidy, who resigned his selectman's seat this past June due to the demands of attending law school.
Randall said: "I'm giving it consideration and weighing all factors involved."
"Certainly, it's always been in the back of my head since after the 2004 election," she said. "I had such a great experience and did so much groundwork that it would be easy to pick up where I left off."
One Democrat who had been mentioned as a possible contender has decided against entering the race.
Swampscott Selectman Marc Paster, who lost to Petersen in the 2004 primary, said that after conversations with consultants and pollsters, "I have concluded that the majority of those that are going to vote in this Democratic primary really don't represent my broad base of support, and therefore I think the numbers show that it would be very difficult for me to win. Therefore, I have decided that I am not going to run."
Blaisdell and Ehrlich both are familiar with the whole district, having spent time in each of the district's three communities. Neither has run for office before.
A self-employed certified public accountant, Ehrlich is cofounder of the Wenham Lake Watershed Association. The group in 2001 documented that the lake, which supplies water to 80,000 residents, was contaminated with fly ash dumped by
The discovery led to the company removing fly ash from the lake and cleaning and capping the pit.
Ehrlich also helped found HealthLink, a local group that promotes use of renewable energy and reducing human exposure to environmental toxins. She is founder and moderator of a blog, Truth & Progress, which she describes as a "blend of politics, policy, and pop culture," with the environment a key topic.
If elected, Ehrlich said she would work to expand local aid, "which affects our schools, our roads, and other aspects of living in the community." She would also continue to be a public health advocate.
"And as a local businesswoman, I'm acutely aware of the rising costs of running a small business," she said. "Small businesses are the lifeblood of the community. So I would hope to bring their issues to the State House as well."
In addition to his law enforcement work, Blaisdell worked part time for a mortgage brokering company from 1992 until this April when, upon his retirement as a police officer, he started his own mortgage brokerage business. He is a Vietnam Army combat veteran.
Blaisdell said he has received an "overwhelming" response from friends in Marblehead and Swampscott.
"It's been very favorable."
He said he plans to form a committee over the next several weeks and at that time will begin to develop an issues platform.
