Angela Guarino-Sawaya recorded an impressive first-place finish in the Sept. 19 preliminary election for Ward 5 councillor, receiving 668 votes in a field of four candidates.
Current Ward 5 Councillor John Powers was second with 432 votes. Ralph Celestin was third with 177 votes, while Randall Mondestin was fourth with 152 votes. Guarino-Sawaya and Powers advance to the general election in November.
Guarino-Sawaya gathered with her many supporters at a post-election party at Volare Restaurant on Broadway. The fifth-year president of the Point of Pines Beach Association, Guarino-Sawaya said she was pleased with the show of support by the voters throughout Ward 5.
“I worked very, very hard and I feel I earned every single vote I got,” said Guarino-Sawaya. “I have not stopped campaign since the day I pulled my [nomination] papers.”
Guarino-Sawaya said she knocked on doors each day and attended numerous city events during her campaign.
“I have been going door-to-door handing out leaflets and continually talking to people,’ said Guarino-Sawaya. “That was the key. They have a preconception of you sometimes. And until they talk to you, they don’t really know who you are. I’m extremely transparent.”
Guarino-Sawaya is also proud of her record as president of the Point of Pines Beach Association. “The members know what I can accomplish. Things that they never expected to get done in the Pines have been done.”
Guarino-Sawaya said she is back on the campaign trail and excited about the road ahead. “I’m going to work extremely hard like I did before. I know it’s not going to be easy. I need to represent the people of Ward 5. They have not been represented in a long time the way they should be.”
Powers, who said the new term would definitely be his last if he is elected in November, has been campaigning daily from home, conferring with his supporters by phone and through emails. Powers is recovering from a broken hip injury that he sustained in a fall at his home.
Powers has served 21 years as a city councillor. He said he is very proud of his numerous accomplishments.
“There are two things that I want to complete as a councillor,” said Powers. “One of them is the new Point of Pines Fire Station. I want to see it completed as soon as possible. There’s been a tremendous void in public safety in the Point of Pines, Revere Street, the Boulevard, and other sections of Ward 5. If Engine 5 at the corner of Freeman Street and North Shore Road were out on another call, that would mean that the people in the Pines and Oak Island would be left without any coverage. It would be a long wait for people, and it would be a dangerous wait, too.”
Powers said the other goals he wants to work on are preserving Mills Avenue as “a single-family district, building a maritime center [adjacent to Gibson Park], and starting a community boating program there.”
“I’ve love to see a crew program at Revere High, which would give students an opportunity to compete in a varsity sport and maybe even carry it forward to being a member of a crew team in college,” said Powers.
