Most legislators returned to office; Ferrante takes 5th Essex seat

It has been a year of momentous political change in the nation, but not so north of Boston.

In last Tuesday's elections, all but one of the 29 state legislators in the region were reelected, as were the four members of Congress with stakes in the region and four of the five other regional officeholders whose terms expired this year.

The only additions to the area's political lineup are Gloucester Democrat Ann-Margaret Ferrante, elected last Tuesday as state representative in the Fifth Essex district, and Medford Democrat Tara E. DeCristofaro, elected Middlesex register of probate.

Tuesday's elections did feature four competitive legislative races. Although incumbents were favored in each case, the outcomes were less than certain due to such unpredictable dynamics as the economic downturn and the heavy turnout due to the presidential race.

In the end, all four incumbents won easily. Returned to office were Marblehead Democrat Lori A. Ehrlich, Ipswich Republican Brad Hill, House Republican leader Brad Jones of North Reading, and Andover Democrat Barbara A. L'Italien.

There were no other legislative races. But in Ferrante's district, there was a last-minute write-in effort for Democratic incumbent Anthony J. Verga of Gloucester, who had lost to Ferrante in a three-way September primary.

Gloucester School Committee chairman Greg Verga, who is Anthony Verga's son and had been his campaign manager, said he e-mailed a letter to 500 of his father's supporters the day before Tuesday's election encouraging them to write in his name as "a gesture of appreciation for all he's done over the past 14 years" in the House. He said the effort was not a serious attempt to win the seat.

Anthony Verga picked up 814 votes in Gloucester and 50 in Essex. In Rockport, there were 76 write-in votes, but no count was available last week on how many went to Verga. Ferrante received 14,328 votes overall in winning the seat.

Hill defeated Boxford Democrat and first-time candidate Donald Bumiller by 15,752 votes to 6,365.

He said he was "very humbled" by his victory margin "but pleasantly shocked. We feared going in that there might be some wave of Obama supporters voting against us." But he said voters appreciated "the things we had done, the projects we had been able to deliver, and the fact that over my career I have not been a partisan person."

Hill said "school, local aid, and creating jobs" are his top priorities.

Ehrlich defeated Marblehead Republican John Blaisdell by 14,049 votes to 6,706 in their second electoral meeting this year. Last March, Ehrlich defeated Blaisdell and one other candidate in a special election for the seat.

"I'm humbled and honored to have been selected by the district," Ehrlich said. "After four elections in one year (two primary and two general election contests), I'm looking forward to focusing on a full term."

She said she plans to continue work on several initiatives she began this year, including "a small-business stimulus package, a municipal relief package, and some public health items . . . all with the overarching goal of dealing with the impact that the downturn in the economy is having on our district and on small businesses in general."

L'Italien outpaced former Georgetown selectman Lawrence Brennan, 11,952 votes to 8,261. The race was a rematch of their 2006 contest.

"I was very happy," L'Italien said of last Tuesday's vote. "I think it showed that people recognized how hard I've worked."

She said her focus next term will be the state's financial crisis.

"We don't know where the bottom is, so therefore we don't know whether we will have to look at another round of cuts. So how we manage and prioritize state spending has got to be the biggest concern over the next two years."

Jones defeated Reading Democrat Claire Paradiso by 16,388 votes to 6,595.

"I'm exceptionally pleased with how things went . . . given it being a bad year for Republicans," Jones said.

He attributed the outcome to "the record of the work we've done, whether it's constituent-based or community-based, and I think being accessible, available, and accountable. I think people appreciated that."