Beacon Hill News

Rep. Mirra Files Court Complaint, Disputes Specific Ballots That Cost Him Re-Election

By |

After a recount positioned him to lose his reelection bid by a single vote, Rep. Lenny Mirra will focus his legal challenge on approximately nine ballots he believes were improperly counted and another 14 mail-in votes he alleges do not have properly matching signatures. Mirra made his case official Wednesday, filing a complaint in Essex Superior Court that asks a judge either to declare him victorious in his north shore district or rule that the race ended in a tie and therefore requires a new special election. Following redistricting forced by changes in population, Mirra’s district no longer includes Haverhill, Groveland, Merrimac and West Newbury. The Georgetown Republican’s team alleged the registrars of voters in Georgetown, Ipswich and Rowley as well as town clerks in Ipswich and Rowley “made several critical errors of law” during the multi-day recount process, which flipped the originally certified result from a 10-vote victory for Mirra to a one-vote victory for Hamilton Democrat Kristin Kassner

In Georgetown, for example, Mirra alleged one ballot included a mark in the oval next to his name and no mark next to Kassner’s name, yet was counted as a blank. He challenged two ballots in Ipswich, including one where a voter “mistakenly” wrote in Donald Trump for state rep., then filled in the mark for Mirra and another where the mark in Mirra’s oval “extended ever-so-slightly into the oval for Kristin Kassner.” Both were ruled blanks, according to Mirra’s complaint.

Beacon Hill News

DiZoglio Names Transition Team; Includes Former Haverhill Aide Who Called for Hospital Review

By |

Sen. and Auditor-Elect Diana DiZoglio’s new transition team includes a few local notables, including a former Haverhill mayoral aide who 20 years ago called for a forensic audit of the former city-owned Hale Hospital. Stephen Lisauskas, former aide to Haverhill Mayor John J. Guerin, was named to DiZoglio’s Communications and Engagement team. Lisauskas, now vice president of WasteZero, once urged Haverhill city councilors to undertake a deep audit to learn of any misconduct by managers that may have contributed to the hospital’s failure. Councilors declined, saying it wouldn’t change the outcome. Lisauskas will have good company on the committee, serving with Mark Ianello, Lawrence chief administrative and finance officer, and Amesbury Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Phil DeCologero.

Beacon Hill News

Haverhill Landlord Settles Charges of Fraudulently Obtaining State Housing Subsidies

By |

A Haverhill landlord has agreed to pay the state $40,000 to settle allegations he fraudulently obtained state housing subsidies. Attorney General Maura Healey said in a statement Tuesday that Thomas E. Theriault of Haverhill allegedly presented falsified documents to obtain $20,000 in housing subsidies from the Department of Housing and Community Development. To obtain the subsidies from the HomeBASE program, Theriault was required to have apartments inspected by the City of Haverhill to ensure they were free of significant code violations, and to obtain certificates of occupancy from the city certifying the apartments met all applicable health and safety codes. Healey’s office charged Theriault did not have the apartments inspected and instead knowingly changed the dates on outdated certificates of occupancy for two rental units. At least one of the units had a violation of the state sanitary code.

Beacon Hill News

DiZoglio Taps Weinreich to Lead State Auditor Transition; Both Share Opposition to NDAs

By |

A North Andover woman, who led the town in banning the use of taxpayer-paid nondisclosure agreements, has been named as director of state Auditor-elect Diana DiZoglio’s transition team. Sasha Weinreich’s job will be to “move the auditor-elect’s commitments forward and ensure the new administration’s readiness on Jan. 18.” She is a former chair of the North Andover Finance Committee and the youngest in its history to serve in that capacity. “This is an incredible opportunity to serve the residents of the Commonwealth and ensure a smooth transition for the auditor-elect,” Weinreich said. “I’m ready to help move the Commonwealth forward with a critical foundation of transparency, accountability and equity for the office.”

When launching her bid for state auditor, DiZoglio said, one of her goals is to “shine a bright light on the abuse of nondisclosure agreements—known as NDAs, for short—that have been used by the politically powerful to silence victims about harassment, discrimination and abuse across our government.” As a state senator, DiZoglio called such agreements as “hush” money to “silence employees and victims of abuse.”

During a debate on sexual harassment policies in 2018, DiZoglio broke the non-disclosure agreement she signed years earlier when she was fired as a House aide.

Beacon Hill News

Haverhill and Area Fire Departments Receive State Grants for Protective Clothing and Gear

By |

Haverhill and other area communities are among those sharing in state grants to buy critical firefighter safety gear. Haverhill was awarded $35,000 from the Firefighter Safety Equipment Grant Program, while Lawrence received $28,997; North Andover, $24,584; Groveland, $15,072; and West Newbury, $12,500. This is the third year money has been awarded as part of a five-year, $25 million bond bill to support firefighter safety and health in the coming years. “We ask so much of our firefighters, and no matter how dangerous or difficult the situation, they always do whatever it takes to help,” said Gov. Charlie Baker. “This program is an opportunity to make sure they are properly protected every time they answer a call for help.”

Fire departments in Massachusetts were able to apply to this program for 121 different types of eligible equipment, including ballistic protective clothing, thermal protective clothing, gear washers and dryers, thermal imaging cameras, assorted hand tools and extrication equipment, communications resources, hazardous gas meters, fitness equipment and more.

Beacon Hill News

State Awards Assistance to YWCA Residences at Ingalls Court in Methuen for 48 Apartments

By |

YWCA Residences at Ingalls Court in Methuen will host 48 affordable homes thanks to federal and state low-income housing tax credits and subsidy funds, including American Rescue Plan Act. The assistance was announced by Gov. Charlie Baker while he was in Haverhill yesterday to celebrate his pro-housing policies over the last eight years. When completed, the project will offer 48 total housing units. All will be affordable to households earning less than 60% of area median income, with 16 units further restricted for households earning less than 30% and, in some cases, transitioning from homelessness. Housing and Community Development Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox said, “Here in Haverhill, we can see how new housing invigorates neighborhoods and supports local downtowns.

Homepage Featured

Essex County Sheriff Receives $30,000 Grant to Treat Prisoner Opioid Addiction

By |

The Essex County Sheriff’s office was selected by the state to receive $30,000 in federal grants to provide substance use treatment to prisoners. The Residential Substance Abuse Treatment program awards $243,095.50 to Massachusetts sheriffs to support the delivery of addiction services to individuals in their custody. The federal grant funding is administered by the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Assistance. In Massachusetts, the money is managed and distributed by the Office of Grants and Research. “Our administration remains focused on using every tool available to address the opioid epidemic and expand access to substance use treatment, and these awards are the latest step in those efforts,” said Gov. Charlie Baker.

Beacon Hill News

Finegold Defeats DeFranco in Senate Race; Mirra Barely Holds on; Ramos Takes Vacant Seat

By |

The old adage “signs don’t vote” appears to have been proven in Democratic incumbent Sen. Barry R. Finegold’s win against Haverhill upstart Salvatore P. DeFranco. Finegold, who declined to debate his Republican opponent, won re-election despite a dramatically reconfigured district that saw him gain Haverhill, Amesbury, Andover, Merrimac part of North Andover and Wilmington, but lose Lawrence and Dracut. DeFranco appeared to have secured more sign locations, but still lost his home city by a little more than 200 votes in unofficial results. Finegold, who had the support of Haverhill’s elected Democrats, won the biggest community in the Gerrymandered district, 7,521-7,314. Finegold will be joined in the Senate by Democrat Pavel Payano, who won the new majority minority district serving Lawrence, Methuen and parts of Haverhill, in September.