In Peabody, Spiliotis and challenger Scafidi both hitting the pavement

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September 6, 2010

Matthew K. Roy The Salem News The Salem News Mon Sep 06, 2010, 07:35 AM EDT

PEABODY — PEABODY — The race pits insider versus outsider, an experienced Peabody politician against a rookie candidate from one of the city’s old Greater Boston League sports rivals.

And as Labor Day arrives and eyes in this city look toward November, the challenge Republican Martin Scafidi has mounted against state Rep. Joyce Spiliotis will test whether voters will return a popular incumbent to office, or whether the struggling economy and the frustration it has engendered will be enough to spark change.

Either way, Scafidi will be in much better physical shape when the campaign ends.

“I’ve done a lot of walking and knocking on doors,” he said. “I’ve lost 23 pounds doing it.”

Scafidi, 64, said he encountered a lot of “voter disenchantment” over the summer.

“They’re tired of being taxed,” he said.

Scafidi is a certified public accountant who has operated his own business for 21 years. He graduated from Waltham High School and then earned a degree in accounting from Bentley College.

He was motivated to make his first bid for public office by his own exasperation with Beacon Hill lawmakers.

“It’s seems like they’ve stopped listening to us,” he said.

Spiliotis, 63, is a proud product of Peabody. She has been state representative since 2003 and, before that, served five terms on the City Council.

She has been knocking on doors all summer, as well, she said, but has not confronted the same voter displeasure as her opponent.

“It’s been very positive,” she said. “A lot of people seem optimistic.”

Her focus, she said, is on “jobs and the economy,” and she credits the state’s investment in life sciences and technology for allowing Massachusetts to add new jobs at a faster rate than most other states.

While voters are familiar with Spiliotis, a Democrat, Scafidi spent the summer introducing himself to them. His name-recognition hurdle is made tougher to overcome by the scant number of Republicans who reside in Peabody. Of the city’s 34,170 registered voters, 3,053 identify as Republicans compared to 11,793 Democrats.

But most voters — 19,192 of them — are registered unenrolled, and Scafidi has directed his message of fiscal restraint primarily toward them.

“We’re certainly not going to ignore the Democrats,” he said.

In addition to mailings, advertisements, phone calls, house calls and sign-holding, each candidate expects the campaign to include at least one debate.

Going into the fall, Scafidi said he feels “comfortable” about his chances.

“We have a decent shot at it,” he said.

Spiliotis, meanwhile, wants two more years.

“I think I’m doing a good job and, obviously, I like the job,” she said. “I care about my constituents.”

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In Peabody, Spiliotis and challenger Scafidi both hitting the pavement

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