LYNN — Ward 3 Councilor Coco Alinsug announced that he has secured the votes to be elected as City Council president, with Ward 6 Councilor Fred Hogan set to become vice president.
Alinsug, who ran unopposed and was reelected Tuesday to a third term as Ward Councilor, will replace Jay Walsh, the Ward 7 councilor who did not seek reelection. Hogan also ran unopposed and will replace Dianna Chakoutis, the Ward 5 councilor who also chose not to run again.
“I know I have very big shoes to fill,” Alinsug said. “But I told Jay that he needs to be there to guide me. I’ve also reached out to at least five former Lynn Council presidents for guidance. I meet and speak with them from time to time, and I always love picking their brains about anything.”
Alinsug, who moved to Lynn 23 years ago, will become the first person of color to serve as Council President.
In getting involved in politics, Alinsug followed in the footsteps of four generations of family members who served as elected officials in the Philippines, including his dad who is a former councilor and vice-mayor, and his grandmother Felisa who is the first woman councilor in the 50s of their home town of Consolacion, Cebu. At age 19, he became the youngest staff member working for the country’s president. By 22, he was the youngest delegate sent to represent the Philippines at the United Nations — his first exposure to the United States.
Alinsug moved to the U.S. in 1996 with no plan and only $200 in his pocket.
“I moved here because I wanted to be part of the fabric of America,” he said. “I fell in love with this country.”
When he was first elected to the Lynn City Council in 2021, he became the first Filipino-American city councilor in New England.
“I never stopped,” he said. “I was even inspecting city projects and visiting constituents’ homes on election day. Being a city councilor in this great city is a big honor and a big responsibility, and I will never fail the people of Lynn. I will serve them with all my might and heart.”
Alinsug is a community worker and one of the original members of the protocol team that helped design the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine study before it was released to the public. He lives in Ward 3 with his husband, Peter Cipriano.
Hogan, a lifelong Lynner and Lynn Classical High School graduate, has worked at the Lynn Wastewater Treatment Plant for 27 years and is a founding member of Stop the Violence.
“The best team is not the team with the best players, but the team that plays best together,” Hogan said. “I am very excited to partner with Coco. We work very well together. He is honest, patient, active, and straightforward — and I like that in a leader because those are the very qualities I stand for.”
