Newly elected Republican State Committeeman Shaun P. Toohey.
Note: This story has been updated with comments from Shaun P. Toohey.
Haverhill School Committeeman Shaun P. Toohey was victorious in his bid to be elected as Republican state committeeman, overwhelmingly beating Methuen City Councilor Daniel Grayton for the seat.
Toohey won in all communities except Grayton’s hometown—taking about half the vote total in Haverhill alone with 4,582 votes to Grayton’s 1,398. He had the backing of Gov. Charlie Baker.
“I’m very pleased and grateful for the result—grateful for the support of the governor and lieutenant governor and especially the 76 percent of the vote in Haverhill. I’m humbled by that,” Toohey told WHAV.
He said his job is to “unite the party the best way I can… eliminate the divisiveness and petty politics, and support candidates up and down the ticket. I look forward to serving my communities in the First Essex district.”
Toohey’s win came despite a late robocall campaign that he described as “negative.” In the end, he said, his opponent called to concede at 8:50 p.m.
Asked about presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Toohey said, “he certainly has brought passion to the election that’s been missing for awhile.” However, Toohey added, “I don’t like the personal attacks between Trump, Rubio and Cruz. We don’t need that type of politics. It doesn’t bring people together. The office of the president deserves more intellectual dialog.”
He replaces his father-in-law, former City Councilor William H. Ryan, who chose not to seek re-election.
Methuen City Councilor Daniel Grayton.
In Methuen, Grayton prevailed 2,380 to 1,678 votes, but it was not enough to overcome Toohey’s lead in other communities comprising the First Essex senate district.
Toohey lost his Haverhill School Committee seat by 111 votes last November, but was reseated in an 8 to 7 vote of elected officials Feb. 2, filling the unexpired term of Joseph J. Bevilacqua. Bevilacqua resigned the seat in January after being sworn in as a member of the Haverhill City Council.
He had served 12 years on the school committee and five on Whittier Regional Vocational Technical High School board. Toohey also served as president of the Haverhill School Committee twice, in 2010 and 2014. He was unsuccessful in his 2014 attempt to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Kathleen A. O’Connor-Ives, but did win Haverhill and North Andover.
Sheila A. Mullins, of Newburyport, was unopposed in her bid to win election as Republican state committeewoman. She was an unsuccessful candidate for an at-large position on the Newburyport City Council last fall.
| Republican State Committeeman | Shaun P. Toohey | Daniel Grayton |
|---|---|---|
| Amesbury | 1052 | 625 |
| Haverhill | 4582 | 1398 |
| Merrimac | 651 | 241 |
| Methuen | 1678 | 2380 |
| Newburyport | 505 | 182 |
| North Andover | 986 | 670 |
| Salisbury | ||
| Totals | 9454 | 5496 |
Actually, Mullins had an opponent. Maura Ryan-Ciardello launched a write in campaign but evidently it was not successful. Very similar to the Mayor who failed or forgot to get on the ballot. for his seat.
Sounds like Betty is a social
Media stalker…. He (oops I mean she) mustn’t have been watching, reading or listening to Paul’s team during the last election…
Betty are you really Betty or is that just phony name and you are trying to hide your true self??
Let’s hope the Haverhill Republican Committee can become more productive and focus on all candidates instead of just the Ryan family members. In addition they hardly ever have meetings and have you seen the outrageous posts on their Facebook page? Not professional at all and very insulting to people.
This is what happens when you get an uninformed group of people voting. Toohey will just continue the do nothing job his father-in-law was doing and will not support any candidates. Baker, for supporting Toohey, will never again get a vote from this life long Republican.
Baker is an “establishment” Republican.
Well said. Toohey does nothing for anyone unless there is something in it for himself. Sound familiar ??? It should because his father in law has done the same thing since he has had the seat. Shoot I remember him supporting candidates from the other side.
Betty, you seem to know the lay of the land around here. Very accurate as well. Good for you for speaking out. But, these things won’t change unless people like yourself stand up together and finally rid your party of people who only care about themselves and are toxic to the values of your party.