ITEM PHOTO BY SPENSER HASAK
“I’ll still be around,” longtime City Councilor William Trahant says.
By THOMAS GRILLO
LYNN — William Trahant knew something was wrong last fall when he was boating on Tripp Pond at his camp in Poland, Maine.
“I could feel pain in my chest, started sweating and had all the symptoms of a heart attack,” said the Ward 2 City Councilor.
Minutes later he was rushed to a local hospital where doctors confirmed his instincts. He was taken to Massachusetts General Hospital and underwent successful triple bypass surgery.
It was a life-changing moment for the 57-year-old contractor who has served on the Council for nine terms. He knew it was time to quit and not seek reelection.
“I’m not a quitter and I’ll still be around, but I need to do this for my health and for my family,” he said.
It didn’t take long for candidates to line up to replace him.
Alexander Zapata, a former candidate for state representative who couldn’t get enough signatures to run against Daniel Cahill, had already pulled papers. He could not be reached for comment.
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Last week, Gina O’Toole, a 51-year-old teacher’s aide in the Lynn Public Schools, joined the race.
“Over the years, I’ve noticed lots of things that needed to be done in the neighborhood and people always tell me to call the ward councilor,” she said. “As a councilor, I will be able to contribute to the community in a way that I can’t as a regular citizen.”
O’Toole said her neighbors are concerned about the lack of traffic lights on Eastern and Western avenues, road conditions in the ward and Floating Bridge Pond needs to be cleaned.
Rick Starbard, 53, owner of Rick’s Auto Collision in Revere, also tossed his hat in the ring.
“I didn’t plan on running,” he said. “But when Billy decided not to seek re-election, that promoted my phone to ring off the hook with people encouraging me to run and I decided to do it.”
Starbard, a former School Committeeman who was defeated in a bid for an at-large councilor seat two years ago, said experience as a business owner will benefit the council.
“The key to balancing our budget is to expand our commercial tax base and fund public safety,” said the former teacher at Lynn Vocational Technical Institute. “We need to do more to attract business and industry to the city.”
Thomas Grillo can be reached at [email protected].
