Arciero Defeats Wormell By Substantial Margin

James Arciero has defeated challenger Val Wormell by a margin of almost 7,000 votes, a margin substantially larger than his first victory four years ago.

Arciero (D-Westford) earned his third victory in the Second Middlesex House District, following a win over Littleton Republican Paul Avella in 2008 and an uncontested race in 2010.

"Just to fight to increase local and fight for every last dollar communities deserve, we had successes in 2012 and we're not where we want to be, but we're heading in the right direction.," said Arciero, who said that Wormell ran a spirited campaign in his victory speech.

"We continue to buck the trend better than most districts in the Commonwealth and also I think there's more room for reform in transporation and ethics, but also things such as unemployment reform in terms of weeks and eligibilty."

Meanwhile, in Wormell's concession speech at BixBite in Westford, she urged her supporters to remain strong, and remain vigilant for potential upcoming issues.

"I started out with $52 while my opponent started out with over $44,000," she said. "And now I hear that we may see a change in the state income tax to 5.95 percent, a raise in the gas tax to help expand the (MBTA) Green Line, possible property tax hikes here, Westford is just going to be assaulted."

As she stated throughout the campaign, she did not believe that Arciero did enough to help the district in areas such as obtaining local school aid in comparison to other towns such as Andover, a claim Arciero disputes.

"I wouldn't have challenged him if I thought he was doing his job well, and I still don't think he is," said Wormell.

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