Salem Officials Line Up For Open State Representative Seat

SALEM, MA — Salem At-Large City Councilor Domingo Dominguez became the latest city official to toss his hat in the ring the replace State Representative Paul Tucker after Tucker announced he will see the Essex County district attorney's post this fall.

Dominguez joins Salem School Committee member Manny Cruz, who announced his candidacy last week.

"I am delighted to stand here today with my family and friends to announce my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for State Representative in the 7th Essex District," Dominguez said on Tuesday, "which consists of the entire city of Salem and the position is currently held by the State Rep. Paul Tucker."

Tucker set off a big of a domino effect when he announced he will not seek re-election and instead vie for the Essex County DA's post that Jonathan Blodgett said he was leaving after five terms earlier this month.

Cruz, who was recently elected as vice president of the Salem School Committee, declared his candidacy for Tucker's seat last week.

"As your next state representative, I plan to go to Beacon Hill ready on day one to continue the good work of serving our community, filing and advocating for equitable legislation, and delivering results on behalf of Salem and historically underrepresented communities," Cruz said in posting his intentions. "My experience as a Salem school committee member and statewide advocate has led me to answer this call for greater service to our community."

It all comes as Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll, who also won re-election just two months ago, said she will vie to become the state's next lieutenant governor.

(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.)