Peabody City Council: Charest, Daigle, Gamache, Saslaw Win Prelim

PEABODY, MA — The Peabody City Council races are set with a pair of challenges receiving the most votes in Wards 4 and 5 in Tuesday's preliminary election.

Julie Daigle said she is one of two Ward 4 candidates moving on in the preliminary election for Ward 4 Tuesday night.

"I am proud to say with your support we have topped the ticket and are moving on to the general election on November 2nd," Daigle posted on her Facebook page about 9:45 p.m. "We will continue to need your support over the next month and we look forward to seeing you in Ward 4."

Daigle topped the vote-getters in Ward 4 with incumbent Edward Charest second. John Salisbury finished third and was eliminated.

In Ward 5, incumbent Joel Saslaw posted unofficial results that showed David Gamache in first place, him in second and Matthew Molk third.

"Thank you Ward 5 supporters, we made it past the preliminary and on to the general election," Saslaw said on social media about 9:15 p.m. "I am honored that the voters of Ward 5 have confidence in the work I have done over the last eight years and I look forward to working just as hard throughout this campaign and beyond to continue to fight to protect their quality of life and be their voice in matters that affect them.

"I commend both candidates for conducting issue-oriented campaigns ground in civility. I plan to reach out to more constituents over the next several weeks, listen to their concerns and hope to earn their vote in November."

The unofficial results provided by the candidates had Gamache with 331 votes, Saslaw at 262 and Molk at 240.

"Thank you everyone who helped us and supported the campaign," Gamache said on social media. "We are excited to announce we are on to the general election."

Saslaw said he was "very impressed" by Molk's energy, confidence and his eagerness to serve others despite the apparent third-place finish.

Peabody voters went to the polls on Tuesday to narrow the field for two City Council seats and the Municipal Light Commission.

The top two vote-getters in each city council race will face off on Nov. 2 along with city council at-large candidates.

Candidates for Peabody Municipal Light Commission included Thomas Paras, Robert Wheatley, Tracy Valletti, Raymond Melvin, Joel Brenner and Maybeth Mallia.

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