Barrios Defeats Galluccio

State Rep. Jarrett T. Barrios ’90-’91 solidly defeated former Cambridge Mayor Anthony D. Galluccio last night to win the Democratic nomination for the local senate seat currently held by State Senate President Thomas F. Birmingham ’72.

Barrios’ primary victory, with 41 percent of the vote (with 50 of 66 precincts reporting), was tantamount to election, since no independants or Republicans have entered the race to challenge him in the Nov. 5 general election. Galluccio received 32 percent of the vote, while Everett alderperson Carlos DeMaria Jr. finished with a surprisingly strong 27 percent of the vote.

“I ran a progressive platform people care about,” Barrios said, attributing his victory to widespread grassroots campaigning.

As Galluccio conceded last night, he told supporters he had been hurt by a “big margin” in his hometown and had not made up the difference elsewhere. But he pledged his political career was not over.

“I’m not worried about my heart right now, I’m worried about your hearts,” Galluccio told the crowd.

The race had gathered attention from all over the state because it pitted two popular young progressives head-to-head and would make and break political careers no matter what the outcome.

Observers had dubbed the race a contest between old and new—lifelong Cambridge resident Galluccio versus relative newcomer Barrios, who moved here from Miami.

Supporters swarmed around the young pol, who is poised to become the state’s first Latino state senator.

With a hoarse voice, bags under his eyes and a wide smile, Barrios danced, hugged and greeted hundreds of supporters by name last night to the upbeat tune of Ricky Martin’s “La Vida Loca” at the Sheraton-Commander hotel ballroom.

He posed with groups from each of the towns in the long and narrow district, which includes parts of eight different communities.

Although he repeated “I’ve got to get some sleep,” Barrios showed no sign of stopping, as he zipped across the ballroom, saying a few words to many supporters.

One of those supporters sported Barrios stickers all over her body and trailed a tiny replica of the purple teletubby. Chelsea native Jozy Spinelli—who volunteered for the campaign as soon as she heard Barrios was running—cited his policy stances and his energy as reasons she supported the current state representative from Cambridge.

Spinelli said she likes Barrios, who was the first openly gay state representative, for his progressive stances on same-sex marriages and other gay issues.

“He’s young and he’s got a lot of energy,” she said. “He’s going to do for Chelsea what nobody else did and he’s going to make it better.”

Meanwhile, across town at the swank Hyatt-Regency, Galluccio fought back tears and urged his supporters to stay hopeful.

“We won Charlestown,” Galluccio told his anxious supporters at 10 p.m., two hours after polls closed.

But as a bagpiper and drummer from Charlestown came into the ballroom playing celebratory music, Galluccio broke the bad news to his supporters.

In his speech, Galluccio—a councillor who has won city council races by wide margins—tried to write off his low numbers in the precincts closest to his house.

“Votes will never detain me. This is my city and I love it,” Galluccio told a stunned, silent crowd. “I’m not through with you.”

Demakis Defeats Decker

Across town, Paul C. Demakis ’75, the incumbent state representative from Boston’s Back Bay, resoundingly held off a challenge from upstart candidate and Cambridge City Councillor Marjorie C. Decker in that district’s Democratic primary.

With 9 of 14 precincts reporting as of press time, Demakis held 84 percent of the vote, while Decker had 16.

—Staff writer Lauren R. Dorgan can be reached at dorgan@fas.harvard.edu.