Muccini Burke Prevails in Historic Mayoral Election

Story Updated 4:16 PM Wednesday, November 4, 2015

– Allison Goldsberry

Stephanie Muccini Burke will be the next mayor of Medford following the retirement of long-time Mayor Michael McGlynn after twenty-eight years.

Muccini Burke defeated City Councilor Robert Penta to become the first woman elected mayor under the city’s current form of government. She earned fifty-two percent of the vote while Penta received 48%, according to early results.

Turnout was higher than normal for this closely contested election, which also included several new candidates running for School Committee and City Council. Strong interest in the mayoral race and sunny, unseasonably warm weather brought more people to the polls than is typical for a municipal election, which is around twenty-six percent. Unofficial results indicate that turnout was about thirty-nine percent on Tuesday.

The School Committee had two open seats since members John Falco and George Scarpelli made runs for City Council. Mea Mustone and Kathy Kreatz are the newly elected School Committee members. Incumbents Ann Marie Cugno, Paulette Van der Kloot, Erin DiBenedetto, and Robert E. Skerry, Jr., were re-elected. Candidates John Amirault, David McKillop, Christopher Murphy, and Jane Wright made unsuccessful bids for School Committee.

The City Council also had two open seats since Councilor Penta ran for mayor and Paul Camuso didn’t seek re-election. Falco and Scarpelli won seats on the Council while incumbents Adam Knight, Breanna Lungo-Koehn, Rick Caraviello, Michael Marks, and Fred Dello Russo, Jr., were all re-elected to serve new terms. Challengers Neil Osborne, William O’Keefe, Jr., Michael Ruggiero, Neal McSweeney, Leonore Eforo, Chris D’Aveta, and Mark Crowley didn’t make it.

Medford also had a ballot question, which asked voters to support bring the Community Preservation Act to Medford. The ballot question passed, 55% to 44%. The act establishes a small surcharge on property taxes to create a fund that the city can use for affordable housing development, preserving open space, or rehabilitating historic buildings. The acceptance of the CPA also qualifies Medford to receive state funding for related projects.

View the full unofficial results here. View additional results, including ward and precinct break down for voter turnout and the mayoral race and ballot question, here.