Ferdinand Drops Out Of State Rep Race One Day After Charging In

TEWKSBURY, MA -- George Ferdinand said Wednesday he has suspended his campaign and will not be running to replace state Rep. James Miceli (D-Wilmington). Ferdinand had pulled nomination papers from the Tewksbury Town Clerk's office Tuesday but said shortly after Patch published an article on his candidacy that he was no longer running.

"I spoke with my advisers and there's no viable way for me to win," said Ferdinand, who grew up in Wilmington but now lives in Tewksbury, where he unsuccessfully ran for selectman earlier this month. Ferdinand said he had taken out nomination papers before Miceli's funeral because of a looming deadline o return those papers to appear on the ballot, and that he knew of "five or six people" who were planning to run. As of Wednesday morning, Ferdinand was the only candidate that had taken papers out, according to town clerks in Wilmington and Tewksbury.

"This is a short window, okay guy? There's only eight days to get those papers in with 150 signatures," Ferdinand said. "The fact is I had been planning to run even before Mr. Miceli. Because if he died in those six months, Pina (Prinzivalli) would have gotten in. And would that have been good for our district? No way."

Under Massachusetts law, the Speaker of the House can call for a special election on the next available polling date on the election calendar when a seat become vacant before a term ends. But because the current legislative session ends July 31, the next available date is the general election in November.

As of now, the only candidate on the ballot is Pina Prinzivalli, a Republican from Tewksbury who announced her candidacy late last year and has already returned nomination papers. Prinzivalli suspended her campaign following Miceli's death, which came after he collapsed during opening ceremonies for Wilmington Little League on Saturday.

"Out of respect to Mr. Miceli, his family and the towns of Tewksbury and Wilmington, our campaign continues to be remain suspended, regardless of what others are doing," she said Tuesday. "We'll get back on the campaign trail to share our 'taxpayers first' message when we feel the time is appropriate."

Ferdinand said he "was only good for 500 or 600 votes" in those two towns but had hoped he could lend support to a more viable candidate.

Ferdinand would have brought an interesting wrinkle to the race. He sits on the Tewksbury Board of Health and lost when he ran for selectman earlier this month in a three-way race for two seats. But in the lead-up to the campaign, he and Wilmington Seelectman Michael McCoy traded online bards in the comment sections of articles covering selectmen's races in both towns; Miceli was McCoy's uncle.

If McCoy is considering a run for his uncle's seat, he hasn't said so publicly. Prinzivalli said she had heard that "three or four" people were considering runs in the days after Miceli died.

"I'm a little shocked they wouldn't wait until after the funeral to reach out to voters for signatures," she said. While Prinzivalli was vocal in her criticism of Miceli's voting record and his vote to give himself and other state lawmakers a raise, her campaign had stuck to the issues and has centered on her "taxpayers first" messaging.

Miceli's death does present some questions of etiquette for potential candidates. Jump the gun and pull papers before Miceli's funeral on Friday and you risk coming off as crass, as Ferdinand did. Wait until after the funeral and you miss a chance to collect signatures over the weekend, the last weekend before Tuesday's 5 pm deadline to return nomination papers.

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Photo by George Ferdinand.

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