Everett City Councillor Wins Mass. Democratic Primary

Everett City Councillor Sal N. DiDomenico claimed victory last night in the Democratic primary for a state Senate seat, defeating five contenders, three of whom hail from Cambridge.

DiDomenico won the race by just 135 votes, according to the Boston Globe, narrowly defeating Cambridge lawyer Timothy R. Flaherty.

DiDomenico would replace state Sen. Anthony D. Galluccio, who resigned in January after he was sentenced to a one-year jail term for failing a series of breathalyzer tests, a violation of his probation for a hit-and-run accident which injured two.

Flaherty requested a recount, stating on his Web site that “this race is simply too close to call” and that “throughout the day, we’ve seen evidence of voting irregularities in Everett.”

Cambridge’s candidates Flaherty, E. Denise Simmons, and Dennis A. Benzan garnered 46, 31, and 13 percent of the city’s votes, respectively. DiDomenico won 6 percent of Cambridge ballots—173 votes—and Michael J. Albano earned the remaining 3 percent. Less than 1 percent of the 2,921 votes cast by Cambridge Democrats went to the final candidate, Charlestown lawyer Daniel C. Hill.

DiDomenico has served as an Everett City Councillor since 2004 and has acted as Galluccio’s chief of staff.

DiDomenico said that his work in Galluccio’s office has given him a unique familiarity with the issues involved in the district, which spans all or part of Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Revere, Saugus, Somerville, and the Allston-Brighton and Charlestown sections of Boston.

“I know the issues in every city and town; I’ve been working on them for two-and-a-half years,” he told The Crimson last week.

On his Web site, DiDomenico listed plans targeted at each town in the district. For Cambridge, his stated goals include the creation of jobs in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, the preservation of the Cambridge Health Alliance, clean energy initiatives, and affordable housing.

Though he now resides in Everett, DiDomenico touted his Cantabrigian roots during the campaign. He was born in Cambridge and attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, and his family has owned a flower shop in Cambridge for more than forty years.

There were no Republican candidates in the race, so yesterday’s Democratic primary was the main event of the special election. In the general contest on May 11, DiDomenico will face Independent candidate John Cesan, a resident of Agawam.

Rediet T. Abebe contributed reporting to this story.

—Staff writer Julie M. Zauzmer can be reached at jzauzmer@college.harvard.edu.