Dominick Pangallo Wins Special Election As Salem's Next Mayor

SALEM, MA — Dominick Pangallo spent the past eight months of the race to become Salem's next mayor praising the progress and direction of the city under former Mayor Kim Driscoll with himself as her Chief of Staff for the previous decade, as well as the virtues of government programs and the value of evidence in determining the course of action when making decisions in the best that are in the best interest of the city and its residents.

On Tuesday, he said there was "good validation" in both his previous 10 years at City Hall and his optimistic outlook on the role that municipal services can play in the lives of Witch City citizens as he was elected as mayor's next mayor in the city's special election.

"I think that is really the belief in science and evidence and data," he told Patch Tuesday night. "We saw the power of that in our response to COVID and how you are best served to use a professional approach to how you solve a problem, and not a political approach.

"It's about listening to people. But also not a disregard as to what the evidence shows and learning how to pivot, and look at data points, to learn how you can best make a positive difference in somebody's life."

In unofficial results, Pangallo received about 52.1 percent of the vote (4,819 votes) on Tuesday with former Salem Mayor Neil Harrington, who served in the city's top elected office from 1990-1997, earning 47.5 percent (4,387 votes).

While the two candidates agreed on many issues, Harrington was often dismissive of Pangallo's focus on evidence, data and government focus groups and committees, as compared to what he considered his more anecdotal understanding of residents' priorities and desires.

Pangallo often framed the debate about whether to continue the steps the city has taken in the years since he joined the Driscoll administration or go backward in vision to the practices of more than three decades ago.

"I think it was a good validation of the work that's been done over these recent years," Pangallo told Patch Tuesday night. "The residents showed that they want a mayor who is ready to step into the work on day one and that they also share in that vision of what Salem has been doing in making it the special place it is today."

Pangallo will serve out the final 2.5 years of what was Driscoll's final term with the next election occurring on the regular schedule in 2025.

He told Patch on Tuesday night that he expects there to be a state-mandated 10-day period to certify the election results and that he hopes to be inaugurated into the office on either May 26 or May 27.

He credited his campaign staff for "working hard since January knocking on a thousand doors" and said that understands there is work to be done in the city despite the strong progress he views as having been made over the past decade-plus.

"I think there is a lot of anxiety about the cost of living not only here in Salem but across the Commonwealth," he said. "People are still struggling. The pandemic is in a different phase, but people are still feeling the impacts of that with economic challenges and workforce challenges.

"While at the same that there is anxiety, there is also a lot of hope around the future of Salem. There is excitement about the positive direction of the schools and excitement about the offshore wind terminal.

"There is a lot of optimism about the future of Salem."

Prior to the election, Patch posed the same five questions to Pangallo and Harrington on their priorities if they were to win Tuesday's vote.

Their responses can be found here:

Dominick Pangallo: Salem Mayor Special Election Candidate Profile

Neil Harrington: Salem Mayor Special Election Candidate Profile

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)