Lifelong Winthrop Resident Richard Fucillo Joins the Race for DeLeo Seat

By Melissa Moore-Randall

Richard Fucillo is the latest Winthrop resident to enter the race for State Representative of the 19th Suffolk District.  Fucillo, 21, is the youngest candidate to enter the race. A lifelong resident of Winthrop, he sees himself as the best successor for this position because of his status as an independent candidate. “I think everyone can agree that politics are too divisive. My goal is to work for the people of this great district and State and provide what is in the people’s best interest and not a special interest group or a political party. The hardworking people of our district have no time for political games and partisanship.” 

Fucillo comes from a family who has been greatly involved in Winthrop in one way or another. A number of his family members have taught in Winthrop Public Schools and other family members have belonged to various committees within the town. “My father also founded Viking Pride which has played an instrumental role in helping fund Winthrop Schools. I am the son of Cathleen Clark and Richard Fucillo Sr. I am a middle child and have one older sister, Anna Fucillo, and one younger sister, Sara Fucillo. Both my parents have lived in Winthrop their whole life and I intend to do the same. I grew up attending Winthrop Public Schools and went to, and graduated from Winthrop High School. In high school I was a 3 sport athlete playing baseball, basketball, and golf.” 

He is currently attending Emerson College as a Senior Communications Major with Sign Language Minor.  He also coaches a U10 baseball team in Woburn for an organization called Pure Baseball and umpires baseball games in and around Winthrop during the season.

He decided to run for DeLeo’s seat because he wants to continue his family’s legacy. “Robert DeLeo has always done a great job for our town and I want to continue that legacy. I had planned on running for Town Council, but when this opportunity popped up, I made the decision to run.  I have always wanted to give back to my community and this is the best opportunity to do just that. Speaker DeLeo has done a marvelous job for our district and his shoes are certainly going to be difficult to fill. We have gone 30 years without having to think about a replacement for his great work and now we need a candidate who best looks out for our communities.”

A top priority for Fucillo, if elected, would be the internet. “This is a huge issue, especially right now during the pandemic. We rely on the internet, yet, there are over 20,000 people in Suffolk County who do not have access to broadband internet speeds, and over 8,000 who do not have access to any internet. Another big issue we currently face in our community is the soaring cost of living in our communities. The skyrocketing prices are driving hardworking people out of our town. The third issue at hand is the mental health and drug crisis 

If elected he would like to continue to lobby for the 2019 Student Opportunity Act. “The Student Opportunity act was a big win for our state, however it was not fully funded due to the pandemic. We need that money to fully fund our public schools and provide the most opportunities to our teachers and students.”

Fucillo added, “Part of being a leader involves the ability to learn about the things that you don’t know, which is why I take pride in the fact that I am a student and I am willing to learn about the issues I don’t know about. A lot of people asked why am I running at such a young age. Well, a lot of issues that we face every day have existed longer than I have been alive, and we haven’t been able to solve them. My generation will be essential at solving these issues, so we might as well get to work now. Another question I get is how do you respond to people who say you have no political experience? When people talk about political experience they are talking about the past. Politics are an ever changing atmosphere and stories about the past are not going to help. We need answers and solutions for tomorrow, and that’s what I will provide as the next State Representative. I will only cater to the needs of the people and not a political party or special interest group.” 

A special election is set for March 30.