Unopposed Woburn Council Candidates Reflect On Victories, Future

WOBURN, MA -- When Darlene Mercer-Bruen was a child, she would safely ride her bike over the Washington Street Bridge in Woburn to meet friends that lived on Pine Street. Now, the thought of letter her own 14-year-old daughter do the same is unimaginable to the Ward 5 Alderman.

"Like many of you, I have watched Woburn change over the years," Mercer-Bruen wrote to constituents last month. "The many changes to our city over the years and the increase in developments happening in towns like Reading and Burlington have indeed brought traffic, but they have also brought opportunity, provided us with fiscal independence, low property taxes, a strong police and fire department, brand new schools with outstanding teachers, high property values, and, very soon, a new library."

Like Alderman-At-Large Michael Concannon, Mercer-Bruen is running unopposed and seeking another term in Tuesday's election. Concannon lives with his wife and five children on Rose Farm Lane. Mercer-Bruen and her husband have three daughters and live in the Richard Circle home where she grew up. Both candidates are using the election to reach out to voters and remind them of their legislative track record.

Concannon and Richard Haggerty are both running unopposed for reelection as Aldermen At Large. For Concannon, it would be his third term on Woburn City Council, making the retired Massachusetts State Police Officer and attorney a relative newcomer to the board. In his first three terms, Concannon voted against pay raises for city council members and members of other elected and appointed board members, and he proposed term limits for city council members.

"I believe in public service in the spirit of the citizen representative," Concannon said in a statement announcing his plans to run for a third term. "I also believe in being careful with the people’s money, in maintaining a high level of city services and fostering a strong sense of community, in the value of education, in ensuring the safety of all of Woburn’s citizens, in a balanced approach to development, and in a civil and respectful approach to conducting the people’s business."

For Mercer-Bruen, it would be a seventh term for the lifelong Woburn resident. She represent east Woburn, which has taken the brunt of traffic overflow from new development in both Woburn and neighboring towns. She backed the Montvale Avenue widening project which has been fully-funded by the state and will begin next spring.

"Infrastructure improvements need to continue and I strongly believe as a city we need to spend more time improving the street conditions not just on our main roads, but in our residential neighborhoods including paving, sidewalk installation and flood mitigation," she said. "As your Alderman I will continue to advocate for responsible development that expands our tax base, without expanding traffic to our neighborhoods."

More on the 2017 Municipal Election in Woburn:

• Candidate Profile: After 17 Years, John Beauchamp Eyes A Return To Woburn City Council (10/25/17)
• Candidate Profile: Charles Viola Makes A Second Run For Woburn Ward 7 Alderman (10/24/17)
• City of Woburn election information, including polling places and registration information.

Polls open at 7 am and close at 8 pm Tuesday. There are three contested Woburn Alderman's Races in the general election on November 7. In Ward 3, Incumbent Mark Gaffney is facing Claire Malaguti of Colonial Road. In Ward 6, John Beauchamp is challenging incumbent Edward Tedesco. And in Ward 7, Charles Viola is challenging incumbent Lindsay Higgins.

Two aldermen at large and five incumbent school committee members are all unopposed in their reelection bids. Mayor Scott Galvin and City Council members Joanne Campbell (Ward 1), Richard Gately (Ward 2), Michael Anderson (Ward 4) and Darlene Mercer-Bruen (Ward 5) are all running unopposed in November's election.

Subscribe to Woburn Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Photos courtesy of the candidates.

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