Candidate Accuses Opponent Of Dirty Politics On Eve Of Election

TEWKSBURY, MA -- Independent Patricia Meuse is claiming that Republican Pina Prinzivalli or someone affiliated with her campaign was behind a misleading campaign flier put under windshields during church services in Tewksbury and Wilmington Sunday. The two women, along with Democrat Dave Robertson, are vying for the 19 Middlesex District state representative's seat which represents Wilmington and all but one precinct in Tewksbury.

The flier from Woburn-based Catholic Citizenship purports to show how the candidates stand on 13 issues, many of which have been central to the political ideology of the Catholic Church. The flier says the answers to the questions were taken from "voting records, questionnaires, public statements and other sources." The nonprofit did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

"There were several questions on the flyer which stated that I did not respond to the questions. I have NEVER seen this questionnaire before. Some of the questions were definitely asked and answered by all candidates in the past few weeks but my answers are not on this paper," Meuse said in an email.

Prinzivalli did not respond to a request for comment Monday. Meuse did not specify how she knew the flier was distributed by Prinzivalli's campaign. Patch has asked her for a clarification and will update this story when she responds.

Related: Tell Patch If You See Shenanigans At The Polls

"I know Pina knows that this questionnaire is not truthful. For someone who went to the civility training in Wilmington you think she would conduct her campaign with some honesty," Meuse said.

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Patch file photo.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).