After Delay, Trial, Salem Will Swear In Ward 6 CIty Councilor

SALEM, MA — After more than two months, a recount, a nine-day trial and an injunction issued by a Lawrence Superior Court Judge, Megan Riccardi will be sworn-in Thursday night as the Ward 6 Councilor on Salem City Council. On Wednesday, Judge John Lu lifted last week's injunction that barred the city from swearing in Riccardi as scheduled while he continued to hear testimony in the lawsuit filed by Jerry Ryan. Ryan lost to Riccardi by one vote and, following the recount, filed a lawsuit that claimed at least one voter had been unable to cast a vote despite arriving at his polling place 20 minutes before it closed on Nov. 5.

"I look forward to serving the City of Salem," Riccardi said in a Facebook post following Lu's ruling dismissing Ryan's complaint, which had named both Riccardi and the city of Salem as defendants. "Thank you to everyone for your support during this unusually long election season."

Riccardi and the other officials who won in November's election will be sworn in at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The ceremony will be held in council chambers at Salem City Hall.

While much of the trial focused on Ryan's claim that the city had failed to provide adequate translation services for the Spanish-speaking voter who was turned away from the polls, it also included an exchange Wednesday where Ryan's attorney asked an assistant city clerk if she was drunk during a November phone call with her client.

Salem delayed its inauguration of elected officials to Thursday night from Monday after Lu issued an injunction last week barring the city from swearing-in Riccardi. The nine-day trial included an exchange Wednesday when Manny asked an assistant city clerk if she was drunk during a November phone call with Ryan.