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Three vie for two spots in Ward 3 council race

Salem News - 9/20/2021

Sep. 20—BEVERLY — As the ward that has been described as the "heart of the city," Beverly'sWard 3 has been home to some interesting elections over the years. That appears to be the case again this year with three candidates looking to win the City Council seat that is being vacated by incumbent Stacy Ames.

Steven Crowley, Euplio Marciano and Naisha Tatis will be on the ballot in Tuesday's preliminary election, with the top two finishers advancing to the Nov. 2 final election. It's the only other preliminary race in the city besides the one for mayor.

Crowley and Marciano are both retired military veterans who have run for office before, while Tatis is a 19-year-old college sophomore who helped organize a large Black Lives Matter march in Beverly last year when she was a student at Beverly High School.

Tatis said people are sometimes surprised when she tells them she's running for City Council at such a young age. But many are also excited to see her involvement.

"I've gotten a lot of positive feedback," she said. "It's been really great to see how people are reaching out to me in Ward 3."

Tatis said she decided to run after helping organize the Black Lives Matter rally and seeing that people need someone to advocate for them.

"The Black Lives Matter march really jump-started all this work and I'm so grateful for that because I get to be a voice for people who are silenced," she said. "That's the unfortunate reality that there are voices we don't listen to and a lot of times those are people of color."

Tatis said Ward 3 is perhaps the most diverse ward in the city and all its residents need to be represented.

"I want everyone to feel like they are being listened to," she said. "The march really put that in my heart."

Crowley ran for Ward 3 city councilor in 2007, advancing in the preliminary election before losing in the final to then-incumbent John Burke. Crowley said he always intended to make another run at some point.

"When Stacy decided she wasn't going to run I said, 'I think I have a lot to offer and bring to the table,'" he said.

Crowley is a retired U.S. Air Force veteran who has worked in various management jobs over the years. He said his most recent position was eliminated due to the pandemic. He has been involved in the community for 20 years as a member of the Beverly Holiday Parade committee.

Crowley said key issues facing Ward 3 include the ongoing environmental cleanup at the former Varian site and flooding in the neighborhood behind Dairy Queen.

"We've done a lot of development in the city," he said. "Now we need to take care of the people that got us there, and I'm talking about the neighborhoods."

Marciano is a retired U.S. Army Green Beret who has run for mayor and City Council several times but has never won. The losses have never deterred him from mounting another campaign.

"I normally run because I see things a little different than the average individual," Marciano said. "I just don't want to throw money away."

One of Marciano's biggest issues is property taxes. He said his taxes have gone up "100% in 20 years." He advocates for the idea that property owners should get a tax break equal to 25% of new growth in the city in a given year.

"If the city raises $1 million, citizens get $250,000 (in property tax cuts)," he said. "It's not much, but it's better than nothing."

Voting for the Ward 3 election on Tuesday will take place at the McKeown School at 70 Balch St. The polling hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

Staff Writer Paul Leighton can be reached at 978-338-2535, by email at pleighton@salemnews.com, or on Twitter at @heardinbeverly.

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