HAVERHILL — During his first campaign stop of the day, School Committee candidate Paul Magliocchetti stood opposite Second Baptist Church on Amesbury Line Road (Ward 4, Precinct 2) and pointed to the cross mounted on the front of the church.
"Keep the faith," Magliocchetti said with a smile. "It's the perfect election day image."
Second Baptist Church draws candidates
City councilors William Macek and David Hall also began their day holding campaign signs in front of Second Baptist Church. Joining them was retired Tilton Elementary School teacher Ellen Goggin. She was there campaigning for her former principal, Raymond Sierpina, who was running for School Committee.
Coffee and doughnuts for all from Michitson
Shortly after 9 a.m., mayoral candidate John Michitson arrived in front of City Hall along with supporter Gary Albanese, who brought boxes of doughnuts and hot coffee.
"It's for everyone," Michitson said. "Even our competition."
Just past noon, School Committee member Joseph Bevilacqua was standing at the driveway entrance to Haverhill High School when one of his supporters arrived in a white van bearing, you guessed it ...
"Hey everybody we've got coffee and doughnuts," Bevilacqua shouted to a group of people holding signs for other candidates.
Malcolm Kimball, who was running for City Council, was the first to grab a doughnut.
You're never too old to campaign
Cecile DiPirro, 85, stood in front of City Hall yesterday holding a campaign sign for her son-in-law, Macek.
"I've been doing this since he first started running for office," DiPirro said as she waved to cars passing by.
Students sell raffle tickets
A group of students at Hunking Middle School took advantage of their day off by selling raffle tickets to voters entering the school. They were selling tickets for a Thanksgiving basket of goodies for $1 each or six for $5, with proceeds going to the school.
Gathering on the common
Bradford Common was the choice of several candidates and supporters late yesterday morning, including Michitson's wife, Heidi Michitson, and campaign supporter Karen Wydola. Kimball, who was running for City Council, was there too, along with his mother-in-law, Marion Branden. Kimball's wife, Joanne Kimball, stood at the entrance to Hunking Middle School waving to cars passing by on South Main Street.
That's 'M' for Michitson
It would have been hard to miss some of Michitson's campaign signs yesterday, especially the jumbo "M" for Michitson signs carried about town on the bed of his brother Jim Michitson's pickup truck. Cousin George Michitson drove a blue pickup truck around town towing an 18-foot-long utility trailer loaded with four giant "M" signs.
DeRoche sign 'electrifying'
School Committee candidate Daniel DeRoche traveled from one polling location to another yesterday in a pickup truck towing a large electronic "variable message board" that he borrowed from a contractor with whom he has worked.
Although it was a little hard to read his message in daylight, it got easier to read at dusk when he stationed his sign at the Main Street side of Central Plaza, overlooking White's Corner — the intersection of Basiliere Bridge and Route 125.
"I needed an edge, something different," DeRoche said.
One boat, one front-end loader for candidates
It seemed like a rather odd way to mount campaign signs. Mayor James Fiorentini and his challenger Michitson squared off yesterday in the corner of Central Plaza overlooking White's Corner.
One large Fiorentini sign hung from the bucket of a yellow front-end loader, while next to it was a boat wrapped in plastic for winter storage, which carried a few Michitson signs.
City Council candidate Sven Amirian couldn't help but look up at the odd pairing while standing at the corner holding a sign the old-fashioned way, in his hands. Later in the day, City Councilor Michael McGonagle and his supporters saturated White's Corner holding signs.
Daly O'Brien wonders what happend to sign holders?
City Councilor Mary Ellen Daly O'Brien spent most of her day standing at the corner of Summer and Main streets in front of City Hall holding one of her campaign signs.
"You get a lot of visibility here, and it's my neighborhood and polling place," she said. During a morning driving tour of polling locations, she noticed a sparsity of sign holders in general.
"I sense that people aren't taking the day off to hold signs for their candidates," Daly O'Brien said. "In this economy, if you have a job, you're not taking the day off for this. You'll support your candidate in the voting booth."
Where can I park?
It was mayhem yesterday morning outside the Citizens Center (Ward 3, Precinct 1) when many voters had to drive around and around looking for a place to park.
The center's cafeteria was jammed with seniors attending a 9 a.m. presentation on Medicare Advantage plans for 2010. The parking lot was full, and most of the on-street parking spaces had been taken.
