Colucci the longest-serving Lynn city councilor

LYNN – Richard Colucci is the longest-serving city councilor in Lynn?s history, according to the city clerk?s office, and Colucci knows exactly how his constituents who work at McDonald?s would react if he shared that fact with them.?They would say, ?That?s nice but we still need a dollar for the coffee,?” he said.The 57-year-old Highlands native beat eight other candidates, including future City Council president Timothy Phelan, to win a 1990 special election to replace Ward 4 Councilor Robert Tucker, who resigned to take a position at the Lynn Water & Sewer Commission.Since then, Colucci has lost only two elections: a 1994 state Senate primary and the 1995 Ward 4 contest to Robert Cipolletti – a loss that Colucci avenged two years later.With 23 years on the council, Colucci holds a city service record that puts him head and shoulders above other long-serving councilors.John Joyce amassed a 21-year record on the council almost a century ago and three other councilors – James Cowdell, Charles C. Hoffman and Walter A. Cuffe Sr. come close to that record, according to the clerk?s office.Colucci has not necessarily coasted through elections every two years without an opponent. His 2013 rival, Ariana Murrell-Rosario, challenged nomination papers in an unsuccessful bid to get Colucci kicked off the ballot.Lifelong Colucci friend and city Collector Frederick Cronin said Colucci?s success formula is simple: “He has a good personality and he is nice to people.” Tucker offered a more detailed theory on Colucci?s longevity.?The fact is he is well-known, he returns phone calls and he lives in one of the highest-voting precincts in the ward. All of that makes a difference,” Tucker said.Ward 4 stretches from Lynn Shore Drive to the Highlands, where Colucci grew up at the bottom of Circuit Avenue, playing in High Rock Park and attending St. Mary?s before transferring to the Ford School.?It was a relief when I found out I didn?t have to stand up to answer a question,” he said.Colucci?s father, Albert, owned a corner store at Alley and Blossom streets and his mother, Edythe, died when Colucci was 18.?She had leukemia and then bone cancer,” he said.Colucci graduated from Lynn English High School in 1976 and made a living in the taxi business and on Union Street where he ran Buffalo Bill?s Roast Beef. More recently, he has sold cars and supplemented his $25,000 annual council salary by plowing snow.Colucci and his brother, Robert, are twins and the mirror resemblance has allowed the pair to pull some pranks over the years, like during the cross-country trip when Colucci checked into a hotel alone to save money and checked out with Robert at his side.?The clerk just looked at the two of us and shook her head,” he said.He also has two sisters, Chriseda and Leslie. His brother, Albert, died last year. Colucci and his wife, Carolina, have been married for 25 years, but Colucci admits his ever-expanding basement train set almost landed him in marital hot water.?I started small but I got addicted to it and spent so much money I almost got divorced,” he said.He owns a pet dove he named “Nevaeh” (heaven spelled backwards) given to him by someone who found the bird on Union Variety?s doorstep. He also has a city ballot box painted red next to his office desk to remind him of the vote recount and court battle he lost to Cipolletti.He ran in 1990 because he knew Tucker and he had many friends in the ward.His accomplishment list includes High Rock Park?s restoration and Union Street changes that set the stage for a mini-mall being built near Chestnut Street.?If you can help people, it?s nice, and if they call me, it must be important to them. I always return calls,” he said.City Council President Daniel Cahill praised Colucci for reforming the council?s public property bidding and sales to bring more people into the process. These improvements are counterbalanced, Colucci said, by the need to bring more business into Lynn.Faith guides Colucci and he is not