Andover Firefighters Endorse L’Italien’s Congressional Bid

State Sen. Barbara L’Italien has won the support of Andover and Lawrence firefighters in her bid for a congressional seat.

Sixty-seven members of the Andover Firefighters Local 1658 union pledged to back L’Italien in her run to succeed Congresswoman Niki Tsongas.

“Barbara is someone who gets in front of the issues, never hides behind them. She has always been willing to put her own neck on the line to stand up for issues that matter to first responders, public employees, and our families,” Union President Eric Teichert said. “On behalf of the Andover Firefighters and our families, we are proud to endorse her and look forward to her work in Congress.”

L’Italien was also endorsed by Lawrence Firefighters Local 146.

“The core of my work has been on behalf of working families, and to have these two major endorsements from groups I have worked closely with is a badge of honor,” said L’Italien, who represents Dracut and Tewksbury along with Andover and Lawrence.

Besides L’Italien, Democratic candidates in the race to succeed retiring Tsongas are Haverhill’s Alexandra Chandler and Andover’s Dan Koh. Abhijit “Beej” Das, Rufus Gifford, Steve Kerrigan, Patrick Littlefield, Bopha T. Malone, Rep. Juana Matias, Terence Ryan, Keith St. John and Lori Trahan are also running. Rick Green is the only Republican candidate.