Campaigns for Council President Begin

Two campaigns for the esteemed position of Winthrop Town Council President begin tonight with candidates Craig G. Mael and Robert E. Driscoll Jr. hosting separate events in the town. Mael is asking residents to join him at a “Meet the Candidate” event for a discussion on the future of Winthrop, while Driscoll is inviting residents to attend a campaign kickoff/fundraiser at which Driscoll is expected to formally announce his candidacy in a prepared speech.

Well, we can tell you this election should be a barnburner with these two exceptional candidates in the race. Mael has distinguished himself with his service as the councilor for Precinct 1 for the past three-and-half-years while Driscoll too, has served the town well as a former Town Meeting member and a member of the Board of Selectman.

In a town like Winthrop that enjoys a spirited election and lives and breathes politics all year round, residents have a lot to look forward as the candidates seek to get their message out and bring new voters in to their campaigns. The successive Peter Gill-Jeff Turco races for Council Presidents were two of the most exciting elections in town history, with both going down to the wire before Peter emerged with a hard-fought victory over a forward-thinking incumbent in their first encounter and then in the rematch two years later. Peter has been an outstanding leader of the Council and likely would have been a shoo-in for re-election, but he chose to step down at the conclusion of his current term.

We expect that both candidates will run highly-visible, well-organized campaigns that will begin in the summer and continue through the fall when the voters go to the polls in November. It will be interesting to see which candidates attract the support of our public officials, town councilors, and legislative delegation in the State House, Speaker of the House Robert A. DeLeo and our rising State Senator, Anthony Petruccelli.

The Red Sox may not be in the pennant race this season — although there is plenty of baseball to be played — but Winthrop will have an exciting race to keep its interest all summer-long, as two well-known candidates campaign for the highest elected office in our town government.