'A new dawn': Mendes soundly defeats Asack for Democratic nod in new Brockton seat

BROCKTON — Brockton City Councilor-at-large Rita Mendes won the Democratic nomination for the all-Brockton majority-minority 11th Plymouth seat in the State House, soundly defeating veteran Ward 7 Councilor Shirley Asack.

"We registered a lot of people who voted for the first time," said Mendes, "people who never voted before, but they were excited, because they believe in Brockton and that we can change things when we work together."

Mendes, an immigrant from Brazil who runs a law practice, was the top vote-getter among at-large city councilors in 2021. The Associated Press called the race for Mendes early Wednesday. With 99% of the vote counted, Mendes had 1,692 votes to Asack's 687, a margin of 71% to 29%.

More: Rita Mendes wants to be 1st state rep in Brockton's new majority-minority district

More: MA Primary Election Live: Healey vs Diehl in MA governor's race

Asack, an immigrant from Lebanon, said she called Mendes to congratulate her on the win.

"I'm proud of my team, my campaign," said Asack, who has represented Ward 7 for nine years. "We ran an amazing, clean campaign and they worked really hard."

Winning the Democratic nod in the heavily Democratic district puts Mendes in a powerful position to win the general election on Nov. 8. Hers will be the only name on the ballot, though Brockton businessman Fred Fontaine is running a write-in campaign as an independent. Fontaine had encouraged his supporters to write him in for the Democratic primary, but unofficial results show that few did.

State Senate districts

In the redrawn 2nd Plymouth & Norfolk State Senate district, incumbent Michael Brady (D-Brockton) faced a primary challenge from Randolph's Katrina Huff-Larmond. According to the Associated Press, he was leading 69% to Huff-Larmond's 31% with 90% of votes tallied. Brady will have a GOP opponent, Jim Gordon, of Hanson, in the Nov. 8 general election.

There was one other competitive senate primary involving towns in the core readership area of the Enterprise. Incumbent Walter Timilty (D-Milton) defended the Norfolk, Plymouth & Bristol seat against Kathleen Crogan-Camara of Randolph. Late Tuesday, the Associated Press called the race for Timilty, who will face Republican Brian R. Muello of Braintree in the general election.

State House districts

In addition to Brockton's main event in the newly drawn 11th Plymouth district, incumbent William C. Galvin of Canton beat back a Democratic primary challenge from Tamisha Civil of Stoughton in the 6th Suffolk district. According to AP, Galvin got 62% of the vote to Civil's 38%.

8th Congressional District

Republican primary voters picked Milton's Robert G. Burke to run against Democratic incumbent Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, who is serving his 11th term in Congress. Canton's Hamilton Rodrigues, well-known in Brockton as the owner of George's, fell well short of the nomination, according to the AP. With more than 80% of the votes counted, Rodrigues was trailing 26% to Burke's 74%.

Bristol County law enforcement

Two races affecting Raynham and Easton were also on the ballot Tuesday.

As reported by our sister paper, the Fall River Herald News, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn (D-Fall River) saw off a primary challenge from Swansea's Shannon McMahon, with 64.5% of the vote going to Quinn and 35.5% to McMahon.

For Bristol County Sheriff, three Democrats vied for the right to face Sheriff Thomas Hodgson, a Dartmouth Republican, in the general election. Attleboro's Paul Heroux came out on top in that contest with 41.8% of the vote to 33.5% for Nicholas Bernier of Fall River and 24.7% for George M. McNeil Jr. of Somerset, according to the AP.

'A new dawn'

The Democrats in charge of making the state's new political boundaries after the recent Census sought to increase minority representation. The new maps doubled the number of state Senate seats with majority-minority populations, and added 13 majority-minority districts in the State House. Brockton is all or part of three of them: the 10th and 11th Plymouth districts in the House and a refigured state Senate seat held by Michael Brady (D-Brockton).

John "Jack" Riordan, a longtime operative in Brockton politics and ardent supporter of Mendes, said establishment Democrats in Brockton should realize things have changed.

"It's quite clear from these election results that there's a new dawn in politics in the city of Brockton, led by Rita Mendes," said Riordan, who shares a law office with Mendes. "The politics and demographics of Brockton have changed drastically and it's being led by Rita Mendes, somebody that came to this country with nothing, worked her way up through college and law school, became a practicing well-respected attorney and she had a vision for herself and other people, young people in this country."

At a subdued election results party held at the Westgate Pub, Asack said she'll keep working for city residents from her city council post.

"I'm grateful for my team and for the people who voted for me, because I'm still their city councilor, and thank you for the ones who didn't vote for me, because I'm still their city councilor. I'm proud of my campaign," Asack said.

Across town at Mendes' party at the Home Cafe, supporters cheered and danced.

"It's been so amazing, because we worked so hard," Mendes said. "It's been a long journey. Working all day, and it was raining, with the odds against us. We kept pushing, and then to get the result. So I'm truly honored."

Shortly after results began trickling in, it was clear Mendes would have a good night. She and supporters jumped up and down with joy when volunteers texted the results from Ward 7A, Asack's home turf. Mendes was up by a ratio of 3-to-1.

"I couldn't have done it alone. I didn't do it alone," Mendes said. "I did it because I have a great team that believes in me and now I'm ready to started to work, because this is only the beginning. There are so many great things we can do for the city of Brockton and I'm ready to represent my city and really do great changes for this city."

The purple-and-yellow shirts of the Service Employees International Union were well represented at Home Cafe. The union endorsed Mendes.

"We are really, really excited for Rita's victory tonight," said Teia Searcy, political organizer for United Healthcare Workers East, Local 1199 of the SEIU. "It means a lot to us and our members here in Brockton. We know that Rita is a candidate that is going to serve the people. And that she is a strong supporter of health care and our issues that we care about as a health care union."

Statewide candidates with Brockton-area ties

You'll be seeing a lot of Whitman's Geoff Diehl. The former 7th Plymouth representative will bear the GOP standard this fall for governor. He'll face Democrat Maura Healey, who is expected to be heavily favored. Diehl bested businessman Chris Doughty, buoyed by an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

Brockton native Tanisha Sullivan fell short in her spirited bid to unseat longtime incumbent Secretary of State William Galvin, according to the Associated Press.

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on Twitter at @HelmsNews. Thank you, subscribers. You make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Brockton Enterprise.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: MA 11th Plymouth: Brockton Councilor Mendes wins Democratic nomination