LYNN – Following former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s death Sunday, Claire Avadanian, who worked at City Hall for more than 40 years, reflected on Carter’s visit to Lynn back on October 28, 1978.
At the time of his visit, Carter was in the middle of his term as the 39th president. He had visited Lynn in order to drum up support for Massachusetts Democrats Paul Tsongas and Edward J. King, who were running for senator and governor positions, respectively. Both Tsongas and King would go on to win in the midterm elections, which took place the following week.
“The enthusiasm the President’s visit brought to Lynn was never to be repeated,” said Avadanian, who at the time was 25 and serving as an assistant to Lynn Mayor Antonio J. Marino. “I was so lucky to be part of it, seeing congressmen, senators, governors, reps, and local dignitaries all together, in unity, was so memorable,” she added.
Avadanian also recalled the special White House phone that had been on her desk, which connected directly to the Oval Office. The phone had been provided by the President’s technical advance team, which had come to Lynn a week earlier to prepare for the visit.
Prior to Carter’s arrival, when the phone finally rang, Avadanian remembers jumping in excitement to pick it up, before notifying the Secret Service about the call.
Over the course of her career, Avadanian would go on to serve five different Lynn mayors. This included serving as the city’s first ever female chief of staff, under former Mayor Patrick McManus.
“Serving for five mayors brought me into a world that I would’ve never, ever expected or was prepared for,” she said.
Another memorable moment of Avadanian’s career came in 2000, when she went down to Florida to represent the Lynn Democratic Party and support then-presidential candidate Al Gore during the state’s presidential election recount.
“We stood for three days straight,” Avadanian said.
Overall, Avadanian is grateful to have been involved in the city’s political history.
“I was blessed to have seen from a distance and up front, close and personal, so many of [Lynn’s] memorable moments,” she said.
