3 Democrats Running For Brodeur's State House Seat

Three Democrats are running in a special election for a House seat north of Boston, turning in nomination papers ahead of last week's deadline to set up a field that includes two municipal officials and a former Beacon Hill staffer.

Ahead of a Feb. 4 primary and March 3 general election, nomination papers were due to city and town halls in the district by Dec. 24 to qualify for the race for the House seat last held by Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur. Candidates have until Tuesday to file their papers with Secretary of State William Galvin.

Democrats Mathew Helman, Kate Lipper-Garabedian and Ann McGonigle Santos all returned their signatures before last week's deadline, according to municipal elections officials in the three communities that comprise the district. No Republicans turned in papers. The seat represents all of Melrose and portions of Wakefield and Malden.

Separately, the House on Monday scheduled another special election for the seat Rep. Jennifer Benson is resigning in January, setting a general election date of March 31. Two Senate special elections in other parts of the state are scheduled for the same day.

Brodeur, who had been the House chairman of the Labor and Workforce Development Committee, resigned in November after winning the mayoral election.

That special election is on track to become the first time since 2014 voters in the 32nd Middlesex District have had a choice of multiple candidates on the ballot -- Brodeur was re-elected unopposed in 2016 and 2018, after beating Republican John Lock with 66 percent of the vote in 2014. The district's last competitive Democratic primary was also in a special election -- now-Congresswoman Katherine Clark prevailed against two others in a 2008 contest.

Lipper-Garabedian is a Melrose city councilor who works as the chief legal counsel in the Executive Office of Education. McGonigle Santos, a Wakefield town councilor, is assistant dean of students at Suffolk University. Helman, of Malden, has held various roles in state government and politics, including a four-year stint working for Sen. Jason Lewis, whose district also covers Melrose, Wakefield and Malden.

Voters in two Senate districts will hit the polls for a March 3 primary and March 31 special election. Viriato deMacedo, a Plymouth Republican, left the Senate for a post at Bridgewater State University, and Republcan Sen. Donald Humason plans to officially step down on Jan. 6 to become mayor of Westfield.

Taunton mayor-elect Shaunna O'Connell, also a Republican, plans to resign her House seat before she is officially sworn in on Jan. 6. House leadership cannot schedule a special election in O'Connell's district until that happens.

Benson, a Lunenburg Democrat, is departing to become the new president of the Alliance for Business Leadership. Like the races for deMacedo and Humason's seats, the primary will be held on March 3, alongside the presidential primary.

Nomination papers in Benson, Humason and deMacedo's districts will be due to local registrars of voters on Jan. 21, and the last day to file them with Galvin's office is Jan. 28.