LYNN — The North Shore Building Trades Council is the latest union to endorse Sen. Thomas M. McGee’s run for mayor.
“Lynn is poised for great things, but we need a mayor with a vision to lead the city forward, not wait and see what comes to us next, and Tom has that vision,” said Chris Brennan, the union’s president.
McGee is facing off against Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy who is making a bid for a third term.
More than two dozen union workers gathered in front of Gateway Residences on Washington Street, where construction is underway by the Lynn Housing Authority & Neighborhood Development on 69 apartments and retail space.
Lou Antonellis, business manager of IBEW 103, said the union has a working relationship with Lynn Tech to train apprentices who would be even stronger under McGee who, if elected mayor, would serve as School Committee chairman.
“Not every kid can afford to go to college, but every kid wants and needs an opportunity to earn a decent living, and a career in the building trades is that opportunity,” he said. “With Mayor McGee, we believe Lynn Tech will become a model tech school for the commonwealth. We have an opportunity to elect a mayor who gets it.”
Tim Fandel, business manager for the Plumbers & Gasfitters Local 12, said McGee understands how to best leverage connections for the community.
In June, Lynn Fire Fighters Local 739 and the Professional Fire Fighters of Massachusetts endorsed the Lynn Democrat.
McGee said he was honored by the endorsement. He praised the building trades for supporting Beyond Walls.
The Building Trades, IBEW 103, and the Painters & Allied Trades DC 35 recently donated more than $200,000 in cash, materials and labor to the Beyond Walls mural festival to beautify and revitalize the downtown. They said supporting such projects boosts economic development, jobs and prosperity to local economies.
“The unions have stepped up and invested, not only in time and effort, but dollars to make that project a reality,” McGee said.
