By Erin Tiernan — Erin@concordbridge.org
Some Concord voters will see an extra contest on the November ballot after a successful write-in campaign by a Republican in the 13th Middlesex House district.
Wayland resident Virginia A. Gardner is challenging longtime incumbent Rep. Carmine Gentile (D-Sudbury), who is seeking his 10th term in the State House.
Gentile, who ran unopposed in the September 3 Democratic primary, only recently started representing parts of Concord. The district was redrawn after the 2020 Census to include precincts 3 and 4 in town. The district also includes Sudbury and parts of Lexington, Lincoln, Marlborough, and Wayland.
The two candidates faced off in an October 7 forum hosted by the League of Women Voters and Sudbury TV that was closed to the public. It will be released on public access stations “sometime in mid-October,” said Nell Forgacs of the Sudbury chapter of the League of Women Voters.
Gardner’s name may be new to some voters, as it did not appear on the Republican primary ticket. Gardner will have her name printed on the November ballot, because her primary write-in votes exceeded the 150 signatures required for candidacy.
According to state law, write-in candidates must receive at least as many votes as signatures needed, as well as earn more votes than any other candidate, to get onto the ballot for the desired office.
A week in the making
According to official election results, Gardner earned 151 write-in votes across the district: 21 in Concord, 25 in Marlborough, 10 in Lincoln, 67 in Sudbury, and 28 in Wayland.
Gardner, who runs the public cable show “Virginia’s Views and Vibes” on Wayland’s public access station, told The Concord Bridge she launched her write-in campaign about a week ahead of the primary.
The Wayland Republican Town Committee chairwoman said she considered a formal candidacy back in January but opted not to move forward after learning she would need a knee replacement.
That changed, Gardner said, after she got a call from a Republican state committeeman a week before the primary urging her to jump. Having healed from the surgery, and with no other Republicans running, she answered the call.
“Somebody asked, and it’s a one-party state,” Gardner said of her motivations. “I said yes, and I thought, ‘If it happens, it happens.’”
Going toe to toe
And it did happen — Gardner earned a spot on the November ballot with one vote to spare.
Asked about his new official challenger, Gentile said, “Elections are good for democracy.”
The Democratic incumbent and Gardner took swipes at each other in recent interviews with The Bridge.
Gentile said he is ready to debate his Republican candidate on the issues — including abortion — that he said he believes will resonate with voters in the longtime liberal-leaning district.
“While I was praised as a ‘Roe Act Champion’ by advocates and others for that legislation, Ms. Gardner wrote to me opposing it, referring to it as ‘the Infanticide Bill,’” Gentile said.
Gardner said she now “supports the law” that legislators ultimately passed in an override of then-Gov. Charlie Baker’s veto.
“People were calling it the infanticide bill, and I was asking questions,” Gardner said. “The way Carmine reacted to the letter I sent him, well, that’s between him and I, but he wasn’t happy I even asked, and I believe that as a voter, you should be able to ask questions.”
Drawing contrasts
Gardner said she would advocate for more transparency and offer a different viewpoint than what’s typically heard on Beacon Hill.
Gentile jabbed at Gardner for being a relative newcomer to the district, saying she’s “advocated against legislation.”
Gardner moved from Newton to Wayland with her husband in December 2018. The former preschool teacher and mother of three adult children hit back, saying the 13th district could benefit from “fresh ideas.”
“He’s been in for 10 years, and I think it’s time for a reset,” Gardner said, noting she’s in favor of term limits.
On the issues
Gardner said she’s been politically active and has testified at the State House in opposition to sanctuary city designations for Massachusetts municipalities. On local issues, Gardner said she’s advocated for autistic children in partnership with local police departments and wants to “rethink” new local zoning that allows for high-density housing in district towns.
Gentile is House vice chair of the Joint Committee on Higher Education and serves on the House Environmental and Natural Resources committee. He’s successfully pushed for tuition-free community college and has filed bills to ban known carcinogens and other harmful chemicals from lawn and garden fertilizers, among other things.
Gardner has run for a state House seat before. In 1998, she challenged longtime Rep. Kay Khan (D-Newton) and earned 27% of the vote.
The Nov. 5 ballot, on which voters will also choose the nation’s next president, includes few other contests. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, is facing Republican challenger John Deaton. The November ticket also includes five statewide ballot questions.
