Kassner Wins – Finally

BOSTON — Almost three months after the election was held, the state House voted to seat Democrat Kristin Kassner of Hamilton as the representative from the Second Essex District.
Kassner won the election by one vote after a recount over 10-year veteran Lenny Mirra of Georgetown.
Mirra had stayed in the seat after the election, continuing to represent the constitutents of a newly redrawn district. He was not surprised that the two-to-one Democratic majority on the Committee to Examine the Returns decided in Kassner’s favor.
On Wednesday, his last day in the legislature, he said that the two Democrats on the three-man House committee decided for Kassner “without even looking at the ballots.”
Mirra initially won the November election by 10 votes, but a recount found 11 votes for Kassner. Mirra took the issue to court, where a judge ruled that only the House of Representatives can decide elections.
The majority Democratic House accepted the committee’s recommendation and voted to seat Kassner.
Rep. Michael Day of Stoneham, a Democrat on the committee, praised Mirra for his service and said, “He has been consistent in his position that there was no stealing, rigging or fraud. I commend him for his years of selfless service. He is a man of great character and high integrity. This was a close election. The margin is the slimmest that can be found in any election.”