Ives Says Opponent Ran ‘Negative’ Campaign re: Minimum Wage

Coming off Tuesday’s primary victory, incumbent First Essex state Senator Kathleen O’Connor Ives speaks out to her primary opponent’s claims she stood with conservatives in recent legislative actions.

“My opponent ran a very negative campaign. Ours was very positive, and I think that the residents of our district don’t respond well to negativity,” Ives told WHAV news.

Primary opponent Jessica L. Finocchiaro, of Methuen, was defeated by a greater than 2 to 1 margin. Voter turnout across the senate district’s seven communities was light. The unofficial cumulative count: 9,040 for O’Connor Ives to 4,233 for Finocchiaro.

Finocchiaro alleged that O’Connor Ives, of Newburyport, stood up and took credit for strengthening the minimum wage bill at the Haverhill Democratic City Committee breakfast last weekend after she had voted against the senate version of the bill. Finocchiario, in a Facebook post on Tuesday, also claimed O’Connor Ives sent emails to reporters, calling Finocchiaro, ‘desperate,’ for disagreeing with her conservative record on the minimum wage.”

Finocchiaro also said, “Ives had 3 amendments that weakened, reduced, and delayed the minimum wage increase, stripped the indexing, and she voted AGAINST the strong package offered this fall, voting with conservative interests, and AGAINST working families.”

O’Connor Ives will now face Republican challenger, and Haverhill School Committee member, Shaun Toohey, in the November 4 final.