Former Massachusetts State Rep. and candidate for U.S. Congress Jamie Zahlaway Belsito has established the North Shore/Middlesex North Political Action Committee (PAC) to support Democratic-aligned candidates for local races in the North Shore, enlisting help from both Marblehead and Swampscott residents.
Belsito said she’s thrilled to announce the formation of the PAC and its inaugural board.
The board is comprised of the following members: Chair Megan Sweeney from Marblehead; Vice Chair Keith Sonia from Beverly; Secretary Jill El-Ashkar from Salem; Treasurer Michael Lis from North Andover; and Officers Adam Campbell-Schwartz from Swampscott and Rosalyn Minassian from Burlington.
“Municipal bodies have tremendous power to address poverty, public health, affordable housing, and public schools and libraries. There aren’t enough groups out there to ensure candidates in the North Shore are successful,” Belsito said.
“We need more people to pay attention to what’s happening locally, especially as we continue to see our institutions attacked at the federal level, and that’s why I established this PAC: We want to support candidates who believe in building a future that works for all,” she said.
From a Marblehead perspective, Sweeney said she hopes to bring her experiences and alliances into this new endeavor, in order to continue making an impact on the community.
“With the formation of the PAC, we hope to inspire passionate, community-minded people to run for local office and then be there for them during their campaign,” Sweeney said. “Our role will be flexible and personalized based on the candidate — sharing our collective expertise, providing on-the-ground support, or making critical campaign resources available.”
She continued, saying that “if they need people to make calls, we’ll make calls. If they need people to knock doors, we’ll knock doors.
“We will be there whether you need to make sense of your campaign or you need a strategy to champion and pass good policy once elected,” Sweeney added. “The PAC’s strength is our differences. We come from different backgrounds and have different campaign experiences. Together, I believe we will be an invaluable resource.”
Campbell-Schwartz said that by joining the PAC, he believes it can create “much needed progress” in North Shore communities.
“Like so many residents, I’ve loved living in Swampscott. But I know our Town could be doing much more, especially when it comes to King’s Beach, making our community feel welcoming for all residents, affordable housing, and ensuring our schools and library are sufficiently resourced, in light of what’s happening at the federal level,” he said.
He continued, saying he hopes to bring a more diverse candidate pool to Town races, including those for Select Board, School Committee, Affordable Housing Trust, and Planning Board.
“I’m looking forward to our work in fall municipal races across the North Shore and excited to see what comes for the spring elections across the region, and particularly for our town,” Campbell-Schwartz said.
Any candidate running for municipal office who is interested in applying to be endorsed by the organization can follow the link at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSePckonkpaEeligcu1gj7YU-gvK54TTrbUwIXOO86zl8-2Gtw/viewform
