PEABODY — It usually isn't this easy in Peabody

The deadline for state representative and state Senate candidates to return nomination papers came and went on Tuesday. When the clock struck 5 p.m., a clear path to re-election opened up for Rep. Joyce Spiliotis. She will run unopposed next fall for the first time.

"I haven't had time to think about it," the Peabody Democrat said yesterday, busy this week debating the budget.

She is used to tough primary contests, twice involving current City Councilor Anne Manning and, two years ago, mayoral aide Sean Fitzgerald.

Maybe this summer, Spiliotis will be able to relax. Without a campaign to worry about, she said she was looking forward to spending extra time with her family.

Spiliotis is not the only state legislator on the North Shore without an opponent. There will only be two contested races this fall: Incumbent Republican Brad Hill of Ipswich is facing Democrat Donald Bumiller of Boxford, and Democrat Lori Ehrlich of Marblehead is poised for a rematch against Republican John Blaisdell.

In her third term, Spiliotis said she was not surprised Fitzgerald didn't decide to run again.

"He's going to run for something someday," she said.

Fitzgerald, 37, thought long and hard about making another bid for Spiliotis' seat, but the timing wasn't right for him.

"Right now, I've got to make my family really the top priority in my life," he said.

A campaign and its demands would make that hard to do, he said.

Fitzgerald lost by less than 500 votes in the 2006 primary. His campaign was a door-to-door endeavor.

"I walked through three pairs of shoes," he said.

His return to the campaign trail is less a question of if than when.

"I have a sense the right time (to run) is not far off," he said.

Mike Schulze, former chairman of Peabody's Democratic City Committee, said Spiliotis' strength is her constituent service.

"She does get back to people," said Schulze, who himself made an unsuccessful run for the Statehouse in 1994.

Spiliotis' job isn't easy, according to Schulze.

"They want you to bring home money, but not to spend any," he said.

Spiliotis comfortably defeated Republican candidate Jason Harding in 2006, securing 70 percent of the vote. Even without an opponent, she said she would be visible in the community over the summer.

"I like to talk to my constituents," she said. "It's an opportunity to speak to people and touch base."

Schulze doubted that the lack of an opponent this time around was a sign that Spiliotis could get comfortable on Beacon Hill. A challenge always looms in Peabody.

"It's not one of the safe seats," Schulze said.