News Brief

Capobianco Hires Biden-Harris Staffer to Manage State Representative Campaign

Valentino Capobianco, candidate for State Representative in the 19th Suffolk District, announced that he has hired Abbey McHugh as campaign manager. McHugh worked on the Biden-Harris campaign’s victory in Michigan as part of the state party’s coordinated campaign, and prior to that she served on the Kennedy for Senate campaign. McHugh has strong ties to Massachusetts, having graduated from Boston College in 2020, where she was President of the BC Democrats.

 Regarding the decision to bring on McHugh, Capobianco issued the following statement: “I am ready to work with Abbey to run a grassroots-centered campaign that emphasizes both traditional and digital organizing. Her success in Michigan is what we’re looking to draw upon.  Our campaign is focused on improving our public schools and helping keep our small businesses and workers on their feet during the pandemic, and we look forward to engaging and mobilizing our community on these crucial issues.”

McHugh offered the following comment on the announcement: “This district needs a fighter like Capobianco in the State House, and I am thrilled to join his campaign. Tino has the vision and the political knowledge to deliver for working families during these tumultuous times. As the daughter of a public school teacher, I am particularly excited that he will stand up for students, teachers, and families.”

Capobianco currently serves as the Chief of Staff to State Senator Paul R. Feeney (D-Foxboro). In addition to serving on the Winthrop School Committee for the past five years, Capobianco serves as an elected member of the Massachusetts Democratic State Committee and as a member of the Shore Educational Collaborative’s Board of Trustees. He previously served as an aide to Middlesex Sheriff Peter Kotoujian and to Speaker DeLeo. Capobianco, a graduate of Winthrop High School and Suffolk University, is 32 years old and resides with his dog Bernie at 53 Prospect Ave in Winthrop. 

Revere Councilor McKenna Will Not Run for State Rep.

Ward 1 Councilor Joanne McKenna received numerous texts and phone calls last week as news spread that Speaker Robert A. DeLeo would be stepping down from his position.

Many friends and supporters were urging the hard-working councilor to consider a run for the state representative seat held by DeLeo.

With her outstanding record as a city councilor and her strength and popularity in Ward 1 and throughout Revere, McKenna would have been a formidable candidate for the seat. McKenna, whose ward neighbors Winthrop, has also collaborated frequently with DeLeo on issues affecting the two communities. But McKenna has decided that she will not run for the seat.

“With an overwhelming amount of phone calls and texts I received from friends and supporters to run for Speaker DeLeo’s seat, I have decided as a Ward 1 councilor my work is not done and I will not run,” said McKenna.

“Working with HYM [developer of the project at Suffolk Downs] for the last three years and sitting down with them on more than 30 occasions, I would like to oversee the revitalization to Beachmont Square and the improvements to the City of Revere,” concluded McKenna.