Gravel Amassing Largest War Chest in State Rep Race

27,377 -- that's the number of voters eligible to vote Tuesday, March 5 in a special primary election for Peabody's next state representative. The final election will then be held April 2.

City Clerk Tim Spanos only expects to see a 15 percent turnout Tuesday, which would match the turnout in last September's state primary in a high-stakes local Senate race.

Spanos attributes the low percentage, in part, to only having two Republicans and one Democrat on the ballot. The Peabody GOP is close to 10 percent of voters.

Here's a further breakdown on the number of voters in the 12th Essex District, which comprises Ward 1 through 4 and Precinct 1 and 3 in Ward 5:

Here's another number -- $15,545. That's how much money Dave Gravel has raised between Jan. 1 and Feb. 15 in his bid for the seat, according to campaign finance reports filed last month with the Office of Campaign & Political Finance.

The most surprising thing about the number is it far surpassed the receipts of any of the other three candidates in the race as of Feb. 15 and Gravel won't even be on the ballot until the April 2 final because the primary is only for party candidates -- he's unenrolled.

Gravel did contribute about $4,500 to his war chest, about $1,000 of which was given as a loan to his campaign. He has spent approximately $10,300, mainly on signs, stickers, mailings and online advertising.

Many of his supporters are Peabody locals, including fellow city councilors Tom Gould and Anne Manning-Martin, retired councilor Fred Murtagh, Nancy Slattery (wife of former state Rep. John Slattery), Peabody High coaches Fernando Braz and Joe Rocha, Holden Oil owner Chuck Holden, Energi CEO Brian McCarthy and other businessmen.

Republican Leah Cole has amassed $11,368 from supporters, adding a late contribution filing to her pre-primary finance report with the OCPF. Cole also reports $14,583 in late contributions from the Marlborough Republican City Committee, but all of that money is denoted as paying for postage, mailings and other campaign expenses.

The committee also reports paying $2,700 toward a campaign manager's stipend.

As for Peabody people on the list, Cole has a dozen (four of those are family members). About one-third of her supporters come from the North Shore with the rest from across Massachusetts, including the aforementioned Marlborough committee and a couple others.

Fellow Republican Greg Bunn has only amassed about half his opponent's war chest, however, reporting $6,201 in contributions between his pre-primary report and a late contribution filing.

Bunn contributed to his own campaign about $660 and lists eight other Peabody supporters among his itemized donors, including School Committee member Jarrod Hochman and State Committeeman John McCarthy, Jr. McCarthy also contributed to Cole's campaign.

The rest of Bunn's contributors are from the North Shore with a few out-of-state family members and a colleague in Boston.

As for campaign management services, Bunn reports spending $500 with Peabody resident Joe Walsh along with $120 for "data."

Beverley Griffin Dunne, the lone registered Democrat in the race, reports $7,889 in contributions.

Nearly all of her listed donors come from Peabody -- she reports $3,550 in un-itemized contributions -- and she has loaned her campaign about $1,015, according to a pre-primary report. Dunne lists no late contributions.

Among her supporters are Dick Jarvis, husband of late Peabody Rep. Joyce Spiliotis, retired educator Herb Levine and Arthur Pavlo from the city inspectors' office.

Dunne has not spent any money on a campaign manager, but rather for postage, stationery, food for campaign events and a disc jockey, all totaling $1,214.