Ehrlich wins Rep race handily

Marblehead Democrat Lori Ehrlich won the 8th Essex District seat in Tuesday night’s special election, handily besting Republican John Blaisdell and Independent Mark Barry at the polls.Ehrlich, who is a CPA and best known as an environmental activist, will be filling the unexpired term of former representative Douglas Petersen, who resigned.Ehrlich, who celebrated her victory at Red Rock Bistro with her supporters, said she is grateful for all the support she has received.”I’m elated,” she said. “I am heartened by the support that has been shown me. I can’t wait to get to work and put all of everybody’s ideas in action. The budget is due out shortly and I want to get involved in that.”The 8th Essex District state representative seat is comprised of Swampscott, Marblehead, and Ward 3-Precinct 4 and Ward 4-Precinct 4 in Lynn. Ehrlich won easily in all three communities. She received a total of 3,469 votes, Blaisdell got 2,120 and Barry 537. The only precinct Blaisdell won was Precinct 7 in Marblehead where he received 265 votes to Ehrlich’s 260.In Marblehead where 4,084 votes were cast, Ehrlich received 2,156 and Blaisdell garnered 1,523. Barry made a poor showing with a mere 405 votes. Blaisdell fared better in Marblehead than he did in Swampscott and Lynn, where he lost by a much larger margin. In Swampscott, Ehrlich received 1,131 votes to 549 for Blaisdell and Barry trailed behind with 113. In Lynn Ehrlich received 182 votes, 48 votes went to Blaisdell 48 and 19 were cast for Barry.Despite the loss, Blaisdell, who is a retired Marblehead police officer, didn’t rule out the possibility of a future run for state representative.”I would like to congratulate the other candidates,” he said. “I congratulate Lori Ehrlich for winning and congratulate Mark Barry for giving it his best. In the next few days I will make a decision regarding running in November.”Blaisdell said he is very grateful for all his supporters and everyone who voted for him.Barry, who is an attorney, also said it’s possible he could throw his hat in the ring in November.”I think we ran a good campaign,” he said. “We really didn’t get geared up until after January. We’re not ruling out November. I think we made good inroads and had a good base of support. I still believe an Independent can run for office in this state and win.”