REVERE — Jeff Turco is in the running to replace former House Speaker Robert DeLeo as state representative for the 19th Suffolk District.
The Chelsea-based attorney faces off against fellow Democratic opponents Juan Jaramillo, Valentino Capobianco, Marc Silvestri, and Alicia DelVento for the seat that covers Winthrop and portions of Revere.
“For 20 years, a small town like Winthrop, and also part of Revere, have been represented by very powerful and influential leaders who have brought home the bacon and represented us well. I think it’s important for the person who replaces them to have deep roots in both communities, which I do,” Turco said. “It’s critically important to have an understanding of what the issues are in both communities.”
Formerly a Massachusetts House of Representatives aide for the late Rep. William G. Reinstein, Turco has spent several terms as the elected representative to the Democratic State Committee for Revere and Winthrop at the Democratic State Party. He has also served as chief of staff for Sen. Guy Glodis, where he worked on election law, insurance law, and the Commonwealth’s post-9/11 response to create the first state director of Homeland Security.
Raised in Revere on Reservoir Avenue, Turco currently lives in Winthrop with his wife, Melissa, and their six children: Rosario, 15, Mary, 14, Joseph, 12, Dominic, 10, Grace, 8, and Matteo, 4.
He attended Northeast Regional Vocational School and Malden Catholic High School, and later graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a Bachelor’s degree in history.
Turco received his Juris Doctor from Quinnipiac School of Law in Connecticut — where he was also part of the Connecticut Probate Law Journal — and attended an intensive international law program at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.
If elected, Turco cites education and substance abuse legislation as two of his top priorities.
“It’s important that the Commonwealth meet its obligations to fully fund public education, but I also think we need to re-emphasize vocational education,” he said. “Since I’ve been a kid, we’ve put tremendous societal pressure on kids who graduate from our schools, that if they don’t go to a four-year college, they’re somehow less than our classmates, and I think that’s terribly wrong.”
One of seven children, Turco, who also ran a prison for five years at the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office, has lost three siblings to substance abuse, which he said has given him a deeper perspective on an issue facing thousands of American families.
“I think the Commonwealth’s response to (the drug crisis) has been woefully inadequate,” he said. “We need to not only change the stigma, but change the program. I just don’t think that the Commonwealth has done a good enough job of providing hope to people.
“When somebody fighting a disorder like drug addiction doesn’t have hope, they go back to what they know.”
In an interview with The Item Tuesday, Turco’s brother, Peabody City Councilor Jon Turco, said his brother’s foray into state politics was a long time coming and is emblematic of his desire to help others.
“He’s been involved in politics since we were both kids. He’s always leaned towards the direction of helping people in any way he can, and I always knew, even when we were young, that this was the direction he would head,” Jon Turco said. “My brother’s a very honorable person. If there’s anybody for that job, it’s most definitely him.”
DeLeo, the longest-serving speaker in state history, resigned late last month after a nearly 12-year tenure. A special election to fill his vacated seat will be held on March 30. Primaries will be held on March 2.
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at ecarmosino@itemliv
