Kate Lipper-Garabedian Wins Special House Primary

MELROSE, MA — City Councilor Kate Lipper-Garabedian on Tuesday won the Democratic primary for a special House election, positioning her to take now-Mayor Paul Brodeur's former seat in Super Tuesday's general election, pending the results of write-in votes.

Lipper-Garabedian earned 2,341 votes in Melrose alone, almost exactly 2,000 more than Wakefield Town Councilor Ann McGonigale Santos, who finished a distant second. Melrose Human Rights Commission member Mathew Helman, of Malden, finished third.

No Republican candidates were on the ballot. There were over 250 write-in votes, but it wasn't immediately clear who they were for. A candidate needs 150 write-in votes to make the general election ballot.

"I am immensely appreciative of the tremendous effort of all of the volunteers that helped out on the campaign trail," Lipper-Garabedian said in a statement. "There were endless calls made and just as many doors knocked to reach voters. Together, we worked to ensure that the 32nd Middlesex District is represented by someone who believes passionately about the role government can play in supporting individuals and their families."

Lipper-Garabedian is seeking the 32nd Middlesex District seat, which includes all of Melrose, Precincts 4, 5 and 6 in Wakefield and Ward 5, Precinct 2 in Malden.

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Lipper-Garabedian, a second-term at-large city councilor in Melrose, is the chief legal counsel at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Education. She has been a public middle school teacher and worked in education and the legal system since graduating from Harvard Law School.

In November, Lipper-Garabedian rolled to her second term as an at-large city councilor, netting 5,859 votes — just 215 fewer than Brodeur.

Brodeur vacated the seat in November after winning Melrose's mayoral election. He took over for Gail Infurna, who was finishing out Rob Dolan's term, almost immediately due to a quirk in the City Charter.