North Shore voters answer ballot question

Don Baker can’t wait to hear his last political advertisement of this election season, but the Lynn resident’s disgust over negative campaigning will not keep him away from the voting booth on Tuesday.Baker plans to straddle Massachusetts’ major political parties and cast a vote for Democrat Seth Moulton over Richard Tisei in the 6th District congressional race and Republican Charlie Baker over Martha Coakley in the governor’s race.”Charlie Baker is a good businessman,” he said.Don Baker is one of 14 Lynn, Saugus and Swampscott voters interviewed by The Item last week who said they are ready to hold a measuring stick up to candidates running for governor, congressman and for other state offices.Lee Fitzgerald said he is ready to vote for Democrat Martha Coakley for governor after carefully studying the candidates’ records and ignoring their advertisements. Co-worker Richard Contreras said he is using another barometer to measure the candidates.”I try to get a feel for the person,” Contreras said.Karen Murphy ranked women’s issues as her top election-year concern. She will vote for Moulton and Coakley, but she has stopped watching campaign ads.”They are too hard-hitting,” she said.Monique Marshall of Lynn said she is still studying the candidates with an eye on which ones say the most about providing health insurance to those least able to afford it. “I want to hear what will be done. The focus should be on resolving problems,” she said.Tisei will get Steve Speranza’s vote, and the Swampscott resident is also voting for Baker and “every Republican on the ballot.” Massachusetts, said Speranza, is “entitlement heavy.””I’m fed up with the cronyism – we’re giving away the state,” he said.Tuesday will be the first election in which Anthony Costa of Lynnfield votes. He acknowledged he needs to learn more about the candidates and ballot questions awaiting rejection or approval by voters.Michael Palladino loves politics but said voters need to impose term limits on elected officials and end a “one-party system.””I vote for the person,” he said.Willie Savino used to vote for all Democrats, but he is dividing his vote on Tuesday between Moulton and Baker. He doesn’t know if they will win or if they will follow through on their promises, but he will be glad when the last campaign ad flashes across his television screen.”I’m sick of it,” he said.Linda Gaudet is also fed up with negative campaign advertising, but she is ready to go to the polls. “If you don’t vote, you don’t have a right to complain,” she said.