EDITOR'S NOTE: The following are profiles of Beverly state representative Democratic candidates Scott Houseman and Jerry Parisella, who will meet in the primary election on Sept. 14. The winner will meet Republican candidate Brett Schetzsle in the general election on Nov. 2.
BEVERLY — Scott Houseman was up against the kind of governmental red tape that can seem as insurmountable as it is frustrating.
Houseman wanted his sister, who has multiple sclerosis, to move to an assisted-living facility near him so that he and his family could help take care of her. But according to state health care regulations, she would have to be moved to a nursing home where Houseman didn't think she belonged.
When Houseman called Beverly state Rep. Mary Grant for help, Grant arranged for Houseman to meet with state regulators. Houseman said he worked with the officials to change the regulations, and his sister ended up moving to Beverly.
"It changed my sister's life, my life and my family's life," Houseman said. "It gave me a very personal sense of the power of what this office can do. When the office became open, I became inspired to do for others what this office did for me."
Houseman, a 55-year-old lawyer, will face fellow attorney Jerry Parisella in the Democratic primary for the Beverly state representative seat being vacated by Grant, who chose not to run for re-election.
Houseman served on the Beverly Zoning Board of Appeals for 16 years, including 10 as chairman. That kind of unheralded volunteer work, which involves often arcane rulings on land use, might not seem like it would benefit a future political candidate.
But Houseman said he visited more than 1,000 houses in order to make rulings on homeowners' building applications. As he has campaigned door to door over the last few months, he has noticed that kind of attention to detail did not go unrecognized.
"People have been saying to me, 'You came to my house. I was really impressed you had the diligence to do that,'" he said. "Even people who did not get a ruling in their favor, they felt like they got a fair hearing."
Commitment to community
Houseman said he is the only candidate in the race who has actually written legislation. He and fellow Zoning Board member John Thomson spent two years writing a city ordinance that requires developers of residential subdivisions to set aside more open space and take into account the topography of the land.
That kind of behind-the-scenes perseverance is not unusual for Houseman, his supporters say.
"It's basically an interest in our community and seeing it improve," said Day Ann Kelley, who succeeded Houseman as chairman of the Zoning Board. "It's not every day that you find someone with that dedication. He did that for 16 years without any kind of stipend or pay."
Jane Brusca said it was Houseman who came to the rescue of a group of residents who were struggling to form a land trust in the city. Houseman, she said, volunteered to take on the legal work required to establish the Beverly Conservation Land Trust's tax-exempt status.
"He sort of saved our life," Brusca said. "We got Scott on board, and he was able to push it all through for us. He never hesitates to spend time to do something that's going to benefit the city."
Brusca said Houseman was instrumental in crafting a conservation restriction on 6 acres of land next to the new Whitehall development near Cove Elementary School.
Getting Verizon to pay up
Houseman was also credited by Mayor Bill Scanlon last year with getting Verizon to pay more than $95,000 it owed the city for renting space for cell phone towers.
Houseman said neither Verizon nor the city had clear records to show the company had missed payments, so he spent "several years" collecting the information. When Verizon finally paid up, Scanlon wrote a letter saying the payment was made possible "only ... because of the persistent efforts of Scott Houseman."
Houseman has run for political office once before, losing a race for at-large city councilor in 2001. He has remained a presence in local politics as host of "Conversations With the Candidates" since 2003 on BevCam, the local cable television station.
Houseman grew up in Michigan, the son of a bricklayer and a public school teacher. He met his wife, Debbie DelVecchio, at Suffolk University Law School. They have lived in Beverly for 25 years and are partners in their own law firm, DelVecchio & Houseman, in Salem.
Their daughter, Haley, graduated from Beverly High School and is now a freshman at New York University. Their son, Luke, is a sophomore at St. John's Prep.
Houseman said his accomplishments, from writing zoning laws to creating a land trust to saving the city $95,000, indicate the kind of representation he would provide on Beacon Hill.
"For me this race is not just about service. It's about accomplishing something with that service," he said. "Everybody says they want to serve. I want to serve, but I don't want to just warm the bench."
Staff writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2675 or pleighton@salemnews.com.
Forum tonight
The Democratic City Committee will host a candidates forum for Scott Houseman and Jerry Parisella tonight at 7 at the Beverly Public Library, 32 Essex St.
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