Carl Sciortino

Infobox State Representative
honorific-prefix =
name =Carl M. Sciortino, Jr.
honorific-suffix =

---

width =145
state_house =Massachusetts
district =34^th Middlesex
term_start =January 2005
term_end =present
preceded =Vincent Ciampa
succeeded =
birth_date =
birth_place =
residence =Medford, Massachusetts
party =Democrat
spouse =
website = [http://www.electcarl.org/ electcarl.org]

Carl M. Sciortino, Jr., commonly known as Carl Sciortino, is an American politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he is a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives representing the 34th Middlesex district. The district includes parts of Medford and Somerville.

2004 election

Sciortino was first elected to the house in 2004, defeating sixteen-year incumbent Democrat Vincent Ciampa in a bitter contest. The 34th Middlesex district is heavily Democratic and the primary election is the key contest. In 2004, Sciortino defeated Ciampa in the Democratic primary by just 93 votes – 51% to 49%. Ciampa, an opponent of same-sex marriage, faced Sciortino, who is openly gay.citation |title=Glimmers of hope: the election of pro-gay lawmakers ends the threat of a backlash in Massachusetts |periodical=The Advocate |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2004_Dec_7/ai_n8706663 |date=2004-12-07 |first=Fred |last=Kuhr |accessdate=2007-09-03.]

Having defeated Ciampa in the primary, Sciortino faced no Republican opponent in the general election; his being the only name on the ballot. However, Ciampa launched a write-in campaign to hold on to his seat, triggering a rematch of the primary election fought just months earlier. Ciampa received 4,254 write-in votes but Sciortino, with 8,889, defeated him by more than two-to-one.

In the legislature

In the General Court, Sciortino serves on the committees for Transportation; Public Health; and Community Development and Small Business.

A graduate of Tufts University, Sciortino is openly gay. He is one of four openly LGBT members of the Massachusetts General Court, alongside representatives Sarah Peake (D–Provincetown), Cheryl Coakley-Rivera (D–Springfield) and Liz Malia (D–Jamaica Plain). [cite web|url=http://www.glli.org/out_officials|title=Gay & Lesbian Leadership Institute: Out Officials|accessdate=2007-07-23] His 2004 campaign was supported by both MassEquality and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. He was re-elected unopposed in 2006.

2008 campaign

In April 2008, Somerville Alderman Bob Trane announced his intention to challenge Sciortino in the Democratic primary. Both Trane and Sciortino collected the necessary number of signatures to qualify for the ballot but several pages of Sciortino's nomination papers disappeared from his State House office before he had handed them in to the Secretary of State's office. [cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/05/state_rep_says.html|title=State rep says his nomination papers were stolen; judge is unmoved|accessdate=2008-09-17] As a result, Sciortino's name did not appear on the Democratic primary ballot, where Trane was listed as the sole candidate. Nevertheless, Sciortino mounted a write-in and sticker campaign, managing to win renomination with 2,678 votes (55 percent) to Trane's 2,217 (45 percent). [cite web|url=http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/news/x1213468043/Sciortino-wins-on-a-sticker-campaign|title=Trane conceeds, Sciortino celebrates victory on stickers|accessdate=2008-09-17] He is unopposed in the general election on 2008-11-04.

References

External links

* [http://www.mass.gov/legis/member/cms1.htm Legislative homepage]
* [http://www.electcarl.org/ Campaign website]