LYNN ― Coco Alinsug pulled ahead handily in the race for Ward 3 councilor in Tuesday’s preliminary election, the only open seat on the council.
Alinsug received 872 votes, almost double his opponent, George Meimeteas, who received 475. Both candidates will advance to the Nov. 2 election.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Alinsug said outside of Thurgood Marshall Middle School on Tuesday afternoon, adding that his team of volunteers had been out all day in shifts to support him. “I’m very tired, but it’s all worth it.”
Meimeteas, who is currently finishing an MBA, joked that he had to return home to write a paper when he left the polls. He said that he had received lots of positivity and thumbs-ups over the course of the day.
“I’m glad everyone came out and voted,” he said. “I wish all the candidates good luck. In the end, we all win.”
No candidates were eliminated from the City Council or School Committee races before November.
The four incumbent at-large councilors were the top scorers in that race, with Brian LaPierre topping the list with 3,893 votes. Next came Hong Net (3,814), Buzzy Barton (3,584) and Brian Field (3,264).
Candidate Nicole McClain received 2,655 votes; Jose Encarnacion received 1,939; and Marven Rhode Hyppolite received 1,545 in the at-large race.
In Ward 2, incumbent Rick Starbard scored higher than challenger Elizabeth Figueroa, with 736 and 387 votes, respectively; in Ward 4, incumbent Richard Colucci also scored higher than his opponent, Natasha Megie-Maddrey, with a smaller margin of 410 to 313 votes.
Incumbents in the race for the six-seat School Committee also held onto their spots, with Donna Coppola coming in first with 3,958 votes, followed by Lorraine Gately (3,726) and Brian Castellanos (3,215). They were followed by newcomers Tiffany Magnolia (2,810), Lenny Peña (2,492) and Sandra Lopez (2,492).
Candidate Daniel Richard received 2,095 votes; Eric Dugan received 2,360; and Posan Ung received 1,706 for School Committee.
