State Rep Candidate's Voting Record Shows Big Lapse

TEWKSBURY, MA -- Town clerks in Tewksbury and Saugus say that Pina Prinzivalli, one of eight candidates running to be the state representative for Wilmington and Tewksbury, did not vote between the 2004 presidential election and last year. Prinzivalli, a Republican from Tewksbury, announced plans to run against incumbent James Miceli of Wilmington in October. Seven other candidates joined the race after Miceli died in April, and the Wilmington Apple published voting records for all candidates on Wednesday.

"I’m 34, and like a lot of young professionals, I spent my 20’s focused on building my career. During that time, I didn’t exercise my right to vote because I wasn’t feeling the pressure from an overburdensome government," Prinzivalli said in a statement. "However, I was awoken to the problems when I became a homeowner and began preparing to raise a family."

The records show that after turning 18 in 2002, Prinzivalli voted in the 2004 presidential election and did not vote again until last November's election. Her campaign claims that she did vote in the 2016 presidential election but had changed her name on her voter registration, so the record does not reflect her participation in the election.

"A candidate with a record of not voting is an insult to the entire democratic process. It is an unbelievable hypocrisy to ask the voters to do something on your behalf that you couldn’t be bothered to do on the behalf of anyone else," said Erin Buckley, who is Prinzivalli's lone opponent in next month's Republican primary.

For more on this story, see the Wilmington Apple. Never miss another local news story: Get free local news alerts right to your inbox.

Photo by Pina Prinzivalli.

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