Casey betters O'Leary in 34th
Published on November 4th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - Paul Casey took the 34th Middlesex District and his Republican foe, former Winchester Selectman William O'Leary, by storm en route to a convincing win to maintain his seat on the Massachusetts House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Casey, first elected in 1988, got strong support from voters in Stoneham, racking up 2,748 votes to O'Leary's 978. There were 222 blanks on the ballot and two write-ins. He also won handily in Winchester, taking an unofficial 5,643 votes to O'Leary's 3,151. In Reading precincts 3 and 5, Casey got 1,172 votes while O'Leary compiled 677 ballot marks. Casey took 13 out of 13 precincts in the three towns.
"We're absolutely beyond words thrilled, particularly about how Stoneham has literally been my ballast in this campaign," Casey said from his victory party at Luccia's in Winchester on Tuesday night. "The numbers in Stoneham have just been phenomenal."
Casey pointed to the fact that, of the 3,726 that chose a candidate in Stoneham precincts 1, 2 and 3, nearly 75 percent were on his side. He compared that rate to his Winchester percentage of 64.
"The percentages are higher than in my home town," he said. "That just shows that people have endorsed my style. When you get these types of results, you just get exuberant."
O'Leary, reached at his home soon after receiving word of Casey's win, explained that he accepted the voters' decision.
"He won. He got more votes than we did. It's as simple as that," O'Leary explained. "He has clear support. We had a lot of contributors and a lot of support, but apparently he had a few more than we did."
O'Leary expressed a sense of pride in his campaign and in the agenda items on which that campaign was based.
"I want to thank all of them (those who helped in his campaign) very much," he said. "We had a lot of fun.
"I hope he does a good job for us in the next couple of years and I hope that he listened to the points that we made in this campaign."
Casey had some praise for his Republican counterpart, but indicated that O'Leary's late entrance into the race just six weeks ago may have put him at a distinct disadvantage.
"He ran his campaign very spiritedly," he said. "The one thing that I think this election proves is that a state representative position isn't just an afterthought. Six weeks really isn't a lot of time to form a campaign."
Casey said he is looking forward to getting back to the House and continuing his local and state-wide work.
"There's so much on our plate in the next couple of years," he said, indicating that Stoneham's Spot Pond and Town Common projects were atop that list along with his work on the Committee on Public Safety.
Of the utmost importance for the Democrat on this night, however, was the way in which the victory was gained.
"When you see the numbers, they're just staggering. The people feel confident in me and, more importantly, they feel comfortable with me.
"I'm kind of amazed at the support and confidence that the people of Stoneham have given to me," he said. "I think that's a tribute to a great staff and the recognition that I've worked full time for them."
On the other side of the coin, O'Leary, who lost for the second time to Casey (the first in 1988), said, "It's onward and upward from here. The people have spoken and I wish him luck."
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