Lungo-Koehn Wins 2nd Term; Collins, Tseng Elected To City Council

MEDFORD, MA — Mayor Breanna Lungo-Koehn was elected to a second term Tuesday, fending off a challenge from City Councilor John Falco by nearly 1,600 votes.

The vote capped a tense campaign that pitted the former city council colleagues against each other. The two sparred over issues ranging from personnel controversies at City Hall to the use of pandemic recovery funds, at times accusing one another of facilitating a combative and obstructive environment.

In a statement Tuesday night, Lungo-Koehn said the results show that Medford voters "not only embrace our vision of progress, but also our commitment to a professional and accountable government and putting the community's needs at the forefront."

She continued:

"Together, over the last two years we have laid the groundwork for our vision and our progress is already starting to pay off, and we aren’t slowing down. We have laid out a clear set of priorities for the coming term, including continuing to lead Medford out of the pandemic, supporting our teachers and students and advancing a vision for a new high school, making Medford's parking program work for our community by bringing it in-house, focusing investment on our parks, improving our fire facilities, completing a comprehensive plan that will guide sustainable growth and development, supporting small business and attracting life sciences to Medford, combating climate change and more."

Falco congratulated the mayor on her win, saying despite their disagreements, "I have never doubted or questioned her love for our community and her commitment to serving the people of Medford."

"I want to extend an open hand to Mayor Lungo-Koehn as she will lead Medford as we are starting to emerge from the pandemic," he said in a statement. "I believe that the success of Medford in this period will be very much tied to her success in navigating our community into this new chapter, and I wish to offer my help to ensure that both she and Medford are successful."

Falco thanked his supporters and vowed to continue to fight for "fiscal stewardship, good government, and the values of equity and inclusion that our community demands and expects."

Incumbent city councilors Zac Bears, Rick Caraviello, Adam Knight, Nicole Morell and George Scarpelli were re-elected, with newcomers Kit Collins and Justin Tseng joining them on the council. Councilor Michael Marks did not seek re-election this year.

Residents voted to send Sharon Hays to the school committee and re-elected all incumbent members. Longtime member Paulette Van der Kloot withdrew from the race following the preliminary election in September.

Eight candidates endorsed by progressive group Our Revolution Medford – Zac Bears, Kit Collins, Nicole Morell, Justin Tseng, Jenny Graham, Sharon Hays, Mea Mustone and Paul Ruseau – were winners in Tuesday's election.

"These candidates have won a resounding mandate from the voters, and we look forward to the work they will do with residents across our city to enact policies from the Medford People's Platform, expand our community outreach and public engagement, and build a thriving city with an inclusive local government that meets the needs of everyone who calls Medford home," the organization said in a statement.

See the unofficial election results below. Winners are printed in bold type.

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Election Results

Mayor

• Breanna Lungo-Koehn (candidate for re-election) - 7,352
• John Falco Jr. - 5,768

City Council

• Isaac "Zac" Bears (candidate for re-election) - 6,786
• Richard Caraviello (candidate for re-election) - 6,119
• Adam Knight (candidate for re-election) - 5,859
• Nicole Morell (candidate for re-election) - 7,057
• George Scarpelli (candidate for re-election) - 5,723
• Kelly Sheehan Catallo - 4,098
• Georgiana Chevry - 3,921
• Kit Collins - 5,304
• Abigail Dickson - 4,988
• James Halloran - 1,499
• David McKillop Sr. - 3,281
• Jean Nuzzo - 3,924
• David Todisco - 5,236
• Justin Tseng - 5,978

School Committee

• Jenny Graham (candidate for re-election) - 7,008
• Kathleen Kreatz (candidate for re-election) - 5,461
• Melanie McLaughlin (candidate for re-election) - 5,769
• Mea Quinn Mustone (candidate for re-election) - 6,933
• Paul Ruseau (candidate for re-election) - 6,257
• William Giglio - 3,349
• Sharon Hays - 5,477
• Kerry Laidlaw - 2,869
• Andrew Milne - 4,042
• Cheryl Rodriguez - 3,549
• Robert Skerry Jr. - 3,962
• Colin Walsh - 3,120