Jenny Armini credited her victory in the heated six-person primary battle for the 8th Essex state representative seat in part to her ability to build connections in the three communities she is set to represent in January.
Now weeks removed from her victory, Armini has continued that work, getting to know members of the community, and becoming a fixture at events.
“It’s an extension of what I did throughout the campaign. With an eye toward what I could be working on in the legislature. Going deeper. And that’s really exciting,” she said in a telephone interview.
Armini does not face a Republican opponent in the November general election but, she must still wait until January to be sworn into office — leaving her in a position of limbo with “no authority and no staff.”
“I have really wonderful people who are willing to meet with me, wonderful organizations that are willing to talk to me about the work they’re doing. And so I am using this time to dig deeper than the campaign allowed me to dig and really focus on how what I’m learning can be applied in the legislature, whether it’s through legislation or through advocacy, or just background information,” Armini said. “This time is a gift.”
Armini has joined the Lynn legislative delegation, including Sen. Brendan Crighton and Reps. Peter Capano, Dan Cahill, and Donald Wong at recent events and praised her future colleagues for being “warm and welcoming.”
“I can’t say enough about everyone in the Lynn delegation … in all of these things they give me time to speak, to ask questions,” she said.
In some ways, the intervening time between the election and being sworn in has served as a “crash course” in being a state representative for Armini.
With three months to go until her swearing-in, Armini said she intended to continue meeting people and organizations and using those meetings as a way to think about possible legislation.
“I definitely have hit the ground running and I am really grateful to everyone who’s willing to talk to me,” she said.
