DANVERS — It was a sleepy Town Election in Danvers last week, with no big races, and just 655 of the town's 17,500 registered voters showed up.
But there at one side of a driveway leading to the polls at Danvers High stood Selectman Dan Bennett, greeting voters — even though he is running uncontested for his second term as selectman.
Across the driveway and under a tree stood Democratic state Rep. Ted Speliotis of Danvers, also holding an election sign — even though the race for the 13th Essex District seat is a full six months away.
Bennett, a Republican, is challenging Speliotis for the state rep's seat. And Speliotis, mindful of the upset victory by Republican Scott Brown in the U.S. Senate race, is taking nothing for granted.
"I wasn't going to give him complete access to the voters for the entire day," Speliotis said.
"A heightened political climate is certainly a way to describe it," Bennett said of the challenges all incumbents are facing this election year.
"They should take any challenger seriously, without a doubt," Bennett said. People are tired about what is going on on Beacon Hill, he said. "I've been hearing that for over a year, and a lot of the incumbents have been blind to it. They get comfortable."
Democratic state Sen. Tom McGee of Lynn is facing a challenge from Republican Christopher Dent of Nahant, a St. John's Prep grad who is now a commodities analyst. He said the campaign between Brown and Attorney General Martha Coakley "energized a lot of voters, and we are feeling that right now."
Speliotis said he is taking Bennett's challenge seriously.
"I don't plan on doing anything differently than I've done during any other election," he said. "We do the same thing: We campaign, we lose weight, we lose a lot of shoe leather."
Two years ago, Speliotis did not even have an opponent, so he said his efforts will be similar to 1996, 2000, 2002 and 2004 when he had opposition. But this year's opposition could pose more of a threat. Bennett points out that Speliotis' last few challengers did not come from Danvers — in 2002 and 2004, he faced Republicans from much smaller Topsfield.
Speliotis said he's not basing his campaign strategy on his opponent, however.
"What if I lose by one vote? That is how I have to run," Speliotis said. It's not about Bennett or Brown. "It's about me, it's about how we do it."
Speliotis is not the only entrenched North Shore incumbent facing a challenge.
Peabody accountant Martin Scafidi is running against Democratic state Rep. Joyce Spiliotis of Peabody in the 12th Essex District. She did not have a challenger two years ago but said she's always had challengers before that.
"We are going to run the same kind of campaign we always do," Spiliotis said. "We are working hard."
"We never take anything for granted," Spiliotis said. "I like being out there. I like being visible. It allows you to connect with people."
In the 8th Essex District, Democratic state Rep. Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead, who won a special election in March of 2008, and then a full two-year term in the fall of 2008, is facing a challenge from Kate Kozitza of Swampscott, who is a psychiatrist in Lynn.
"I've never known it any other way, so I'm gearing up for another campaign," Ehrlich said about facing a challenger.
McGee, in Lynn, ran unopposed last time. This time, he said, he is getting out into the district, working with constituents and going to events, but given he has an opponent, he is focusing more on campaigning.
"I think it's really healthy, and I hope more people get energized and become part of the process," he said.
In the 2nd Essex Senate District, Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, will face two challengers: Salem teacher Matthew Fraser, who plans to run as an independent, and Republican Richard Jolitz, a six-year resident of Beverly and a paramedic who announced his candidacy last week.
Berry, like others, hopes to use technology to get the message out. Last fall, he created a Facebook page to highlight his work to bring a new courthouse to Salem, to bring parking garages to Salem and Beverly, and to promote the merger of North Shore Technical High School and Essex Aggie.
"I'm bringing jobs and bringing development back to my constituents, and that is the most important thing I can do," he said.
Berry said that when he was re-elected in 1989, when the economy was hurting, "a lot of incumbents got beat that year just because of the environment."
When people are feeling low, they want a change, he said.
"I think I want change, too. I want to turn things around," Berry said.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673 or eforman@salemnews.com.
Lower-hassle Screening to Be Tested at Airports
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Helmet Camera Captures Calif. Fire Rescue
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
