Lou

Challengers Michael Bean and Dutrochet “Dee” Djoko will be replacing incumbents Gardner Trask and Matthew Duggan for their three-year Select Board terms, according to unofficial results posted at the Danvers High School Tuesday night.

“This is a big responsibility that the people of Danvers have given me,” Djoko said. “I’ll celebrate tonight, enjoy the moment, and put my feet up. But tomorrow it’ll be time to get to work, because this was never about winning for me, it’s been about governance.”

A total 7,280 Danvers residents voted in the Select Board race. Unofficially, Dee Djoko finished second to Bean by 30-40 votes.. Gardner Trask was not re-elected for the first time in 18 years, and Duggan finished fourth after just one term.

Bean was the top vote-getter in the four-person race for two seats with 2,202 votes, with Djoko second with 2,171 votes in unofficial results. Incumbent Gardner Trask was third with 1,799 votes and incumbent Matthew Duggan was third with 1,090 votes.

Many members of the DanversDems were out there supporting Dee.

In the six-way bid for the three-year Library Trustee terms, all three incumbents, Dana Michael Hagan, Donna Hopkins, and Jessica Cargile, held onto their positions against challengers Caroline Pomakis, Michael J. Shannon and David L. Elzey.

In the uncontested School Committee race, Michael Shannon and Sean Doherty took the three-year terms left open by former School Committee members Alice Campbell and Robin Doherty, who did not seek reelection.

Our own Marilyn Hazel was re-elected as Town Meeting Member Precinct 6 and Phil Bolduc running for the first time was elected in Precinct 2.

The candidates elected to three-year terms as Town Meeting members in Precinct 1 include Paul Eovacious, Lauren Deluca, Christopher Dembowski, Glenn Dagley, Janet Bennett and Matthew Aquaro.

In Precinct 2, it’s Nancy McNulty, Paul McNulty, Robert Cummings, Elizabeth Stockman, Donna Marden, Mark Hannon, Philip Bolduc, and Patrick Kelliher. Kyle Bryce Hopkins was elected to a twoyear term.

In Precinct 3, the winners are Sandra Lane, Sally Calhoun, Kathleen Turcotte, Suzanne Elovecky, Peter Clement and Douglas Daley.

In Precinct 4, Richard Parker, Richard Bolduc, Marissa Costello, Donna Hopkins, Corinna Grace and Richard Stoney.

In Precinct 5, Tenley Bevins, Robert Leshin,MatthewByrne,MichaelTrainor, Mary Depamphilis and Christen Tipert.

InPrecinct6,MarilynHazel,Lawrence Chisholm, Corinne Doherty, Linda Flaherty, Angela Pyburn, and Theodore Kontos.

In Precinct 7, Eileen Harriss, Martha Driscoll, Lisa Silva, James Ciman, Steven Murphy and Allen McCarriston.

In Precinct 8, William Hersey, Mitchell Abbatessa, Tim Gray, Charles Lincicum, Michael Morris, David McKenna. Gregory Tremblay was elected for a two year term.

A caucus was held this Saturday (4/27) at Peabody Veterans Memorial High School to elect delegates to represent the 6th congressional district for the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.  

Our Joe Caiazzo was elected as one of the three male delegates. Congratulations to Joe!

Other delegates are:

Michael Lis, North Andover

David Seaton, West Newbury

Eileen Duff, Gloucester

Rani Jacobson, Gloucester

Diann Slavit Baylis, Marblehead

Tram Nguyễn, Andover (alternate)

Several members of the DDTC have been joining the sign holders for Dee Djoko who is running for Select Board.

There are four candidates seeking election to two positions. Michael Bean, Gardner Trask (i), Dutrochet “Dee” Djoko, and Matthew Duggan (i).  Dee has attended our meetings and many of us are holding signs in the square on Saturday mornings.  If you haven’t seen the Candidate Forum, you can view it here: DCAT Select Board Candidate Forum.  

There are also elections for School Committee, Library Trustee and Town Meeting Members for all 8 precincts.  Our own Marilyn Hazel is running for Town Meeting Member Precinct 6 and Phil Bolduc in Precinct 2.  See the ballot here: Danvers Sample Ballot.

Members of the state’s all-Democrat congressional delegation are condemning Iran’s strike against Israel over the weekend and calling for stepped-up diplomacy to end the widening conflict.

Iran launched a missile and drone attack on Israel on Saturday in retaliation for the alleged Israeli strike on the Iranian embassy that took out two senior Iranian officers. Most of the drones and missiles were either shut down by Israeli, U.S. or British forces, or failed to hit their intended targets, authorities said.

Rep. Seth Moulton, a Salem Democrat, blasted the attacks and said Iran’s actions risk sparking a “catastrophic” Middle Eastern war that could drag the U.S. and other Israeli allies into the conflict.“Iran’s evil regime murders its own people at home and innocents abroad, funding terrorist groups across the Middle East — from Hamas and Hezbollah to the Houthis and proxies in Iraq that have killed scores of U.S. troops,” he said in a statement.

But Moulton, a Marine veteran, also urged Israel to show restraint in its response to the Iranian attacks and work toward a bilateral cease-fire in the Gaza strip.

“It is neither in America’s national security interests, nor in Israel’s, to escalate into a full regional war,” he said. “As Israel weighs its next steps, it is critical that it remains focused on finishing its operations in Gaza and achieving a cease-firefor- hostages deal – not on starting a new war while still having no endgame for their first.”

What’s clear is that People v. Trump, the first criminal trial against a former U.S. president, is historic.

A New York court will begin selecting jurors Monday to try an ex-president on criminal charges for the first time in U.S. history.

Former President Donald Trump managed to delay criminal cases against him in Georgia and federal court but will make history when he enters a Manhattan courtroom for a trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records.

The case also hinges on salacious claims that Mr. Trump, fearing bad press in 2016, paid $130,000 in hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up an alleged sexual encounter from nearly two decades ago, along with payments to a second woman who alleged an affair and a doorman who pushed an unproven story that Mr. Trump had a child out of wedlock.

Prosecutors allege Mr. Trump concealed the payments through reimbursements to his attorney-turned-accuser, Michael D. Cohen, recorded in official business ledgers on multiple dates in 2017. He did so days before the 2016 election in order to conceal this to influence the election.

Jury selection starts today, and here’s how Judge Juan Merchan will summarize the case for prospective jurors:

The allegations are in substance, that Donald Trump falsified business records to conceal an agreement with others to unlawfully influence the 2016 presidential election. Specifically, it is alleged that Donald Trump made or caused false business records to hide the true nature of payments made to Michael Cohen, by characterizing them as payment for legal services rendered pursuant to a retainer agreement. The People allege that in fact, the payments were intended to reimburse Michael Cohen for money he paid to Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, in the weeks before the presidential election to prevent her from publicly revealing details about a past sexual encounter with Donald Trump.

Based on those allegations, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The former president has pleaded not guilty and denies the allegations, as he has done in his other three pending criminal cases.

After a dozen different motions to stop or delay this trial, the twice impeached, liable sexual assaulter, NY business fraudster and alleged insurrectionist (and still the GOPs leader), is going on trial today. His lawyer, Michael Cohen, already went to jail for this in which a Trump was co-conspirator 1, for obvious reasons, does not want this trial to happen.

So, buckle up, here we go!