Special Election Preview: 32nd Middlesex District State Rep.

MELROSE, MA — A House seat that has been vacant since November will be decided Tuesday as voters choose who succeeds Melrose Mayor Paul Brodeur in the 32nd Middlesex District.

Melrose City Councilor Kate Lipper-Garabedian, a Democrat, will be opposed by Republican Brandon Reid, who narrowly made the ballot following a write-in push in the primary.

Both candidates answered questions from Patch ahead of March 3's election. Learn about each candidate:

Kate Lipper-Garabedian

Brandon Reid

Lipper-Garabedian, 39, easily emerged from a three-person primary in February, more than doubling the combined total of the other Democratic candidates. The chief legal counsel at the Executive Office of Education has garnered several endorsements from across the district, including Brodeur's.

Reid, 35, staged a late write-in campaign that was successful by three votes. He hopes to be more than just a speed bump on Lipper-Garabedian's road to the State House, saying he offers a much-needed alternative on a heavily Democratic Beacon Hill.

Lipper-Garabedian was elected in November to her second at-large term on the City Council, getting nearly as many votes as Brodeur did. She soon after declared her candidacy for his former seat, something Reid has criticized.

The 32nd Middlesex District consists of Melrose, Precincts 4, 5 and 6 in Wakefield and Ward 5, Precinct 2 in Malden.

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