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WEEKLYNEWS.NET - 978-532-5880 AUGUST 8, 2019
Seven seek at-large seats
ELECTION
FROM PAGE 1
As he spoke, Turco displayed
his cell phone with a list of 150
issues he’s worked on for residents.
Most of them are crossed
out.
“I’ve addressed all but about
20 so far, and I’m still working
on those,” he said.
His successes serving constituents,
he said, include meeting
requests for trimming a city
tree, sidewalk repair, helped
convince the Massachusetts
Department of Transportation
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to reduce the speed limit on
Bartholomew Street, and got
a home connected to the city’s
drain system on Martinack
Avenue.
“This homeowner has been
trying for seven years to get
connected to the street,” he said.
“When I got involved the matter
was resolved in a week.”
Another priority for Turco has
been the clean up of Brown’s
Pond and the area around it.
“This has been a major issue
for residents of that section of
the city where some have lived
for more than 50 years,” he said.
Turco, who can see the L.
Fine Factory on Lynnfield
Street from his backyard,
wants to make sure the vacant,
90,000-square-foot mill recently
listed for sale at $3 million
is not turned into housing.
“That’s not the place for
housing,” he said. “The zoning
is for commercial uses and it
should stay that way.”
School Committeeman Jarrod
Hochman is making his second
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In addition to the four incumbents seeking reelection to the five at-large seats, three candidates
have entered the race, from left, School Committeeman Jarrod Hochman, Ward 1 Councilor Jon
Turco, and retired Peabody Police Capt. John DeRosa Jr.
bid for City Council. Elected to
the School Committee in 2009,
Hochman is in the middle of his
third term.
The 49-year-old Brooklyn
native, who moved to Peabody
in 2002, lost a nail-biter to
Edward Charest for the open
Ward 4 council seat four years
ago by four votes.
“At the time, I was happy to
resume my work on the School
Committee which I enjoy
thoroughly,” said Hochman,
an attorney. “But it’s a good
time in my life to take on new
challenges.”
The divorced father of three
daughters co-founded No Child
Goes Hungry in Peabody nearly
two years ago. The program
provides backpacks filled with
food for needy students who
might go hungry otherwise on
weekends.
He said the program launched
with 120 backpacks of food distributed
weekly in two schools
and now serves more than 300
children in all eight elementary
schools.
If elected to the council,
Hochman said he would like
to craft a similar program to
Peabody’s seniors who despite
several programs in the city,
may face days without food.
Hochman does not know how
much it would cost, but said
there are grants and foundations
willing to fund such a project.
The other issue he has raised
is the redevelopment of the
former J.B. Thomas Hospital. A
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developer has proposed transforming
the site into an over-55
community. Under the latest
proposal, the 112-year-old hospital
would be demolished and
replaced with three, four-story
wood frame and concrete buildings
and parking for 238 cars.
Hochman, who lives near
the hospital, said the project
is too big for the close-knit
neighborhood.
“I’m not against development,
I would be comfortable
with a project about half the
proposed size,” he said.
While he stopped short of
calling for a moratorium on development,
Hochman saud he
wants the council to be more judicious
about development.
DeRosa has also tossed his
hat into the ring for an at-large
seat. In May, he retired from the
Peabody Police Department after
32 years, the last 10 as captain.
At the time of his retirement,
he served as Patrol Division
and Emergency Control Center
commander responsible for the
day-to-day delivery of police
services.
As a member of the police force,
DeRosa said he is not a stranger to
City Hall and the council.
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“I’ve sat on various city committees
as the police department
representative, and have appeared
before the City Council
when necessary,” he said.
He’s also served as an elected
union president and worked
as a member of the Public
Employee’s Coalition to negotiate
health insurance changes
with the mayor’s representatives
saving the city millions of
dollars, he said.
“In law enforcement, you see
lots of things, and I would be
contributing to the city on a different
level,” he said.
The council needs members
who are responsive to constituents,
he said.
DeRosa is concerned about
rising taxes in the city which, he
said, put an unfair burden on elders
who are just getting by due
to the enormous cost of healthcare
and prescription drugs.
He’d like to hold the line on
tax hikes and perhaps trim the
fat, if there is any, he said.
Still, DeRosa knows he faces
an uphill fight.
“It will be challenging,” he
said. “People know me, but
they know me in a different way
from the others.”
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