File under same-old, same-old:Richie Neal remains Springfield’s congressman, after handily winning his Democratic primary. Jim Welch holds on to the Hampden Senate seat, with a strong victory over Melvin Edwards, meaning Edwards will stay on as Ward 3’s city councilor. (Like Neal, Welch faces no opposition on the November ballot, so this week’s victory is the one that matters.) At-large Councilor Tommy Ashe lost a tight, and kinda ugly, race for Hampden Clerk of Courts to Laura Gentile, so he’ll stay in the Council, too. And state Rep. Sean Curran soundly defeated perennial candidate Joe Fountain in the 9th Hampden Democratic primary; he’ll face Robert Underwood, an independent, in November.
File under bad pennies turning up again: Mike Albano won the Democratic nomination for the 8th District Governor’s Council seat. Really, people—have we learned nothing here?
File under good eggs I hope we see more of: Bill Shein came in third place in the 1st Congressional District race, but ran, in my humble opinion, the most passionate and intellectually honest race of the season.
