Democrat Margaret Scarsdale, the presumptive winner of the 1st Middlesex District state representative seat, will be unable to be sworn-in with the rest of her peers at the State House on Wednesday.
In a statement shared Tuesday night, House Speaker Ron Mariano said the House would temporarily delay the swearing-in of Scarsdale and presumptive 2nd Essex District winner Democrat Kristin Kassner.
“While I look forward to swearing in Representatives-elect Scarsdale and Kassner, the House will temporarily delay their swearing in to allow the Special Committee to Examine the Returns to thoroughly review the last minute legal issues raised in each race, and affirm the results of each election,” Mariano said.
Both races have been contested by their Republican challengers, with 1st Middlesex District opponent Andrew Shepherd of Townsend filing his contest on Dec. 23. However, the Scarsdale campaign said that it was unaware of Shepherd’s filing until Dec. 27.
Arguing that the court would lose jurisdiction over the matter Wednesday when the House receives a list of certified names of elected state representatives from the Secretary of State’s office, the Scarsdale campaign filed a motion to dismiss the pending court case.
Additionally, the Scarsdale campaign cited the state Superior Court’s ruling in the 2nd Essex District case from Dec. 29, which argued that it did not have jurisdiction over the case as state Rep. Lenny Mirra challenged his loss to Kassner.
In a statement released Tuesday night, Scarsdale said she was disappointed she would not be taking the oath alongside her peers.
“I, like so many of you, was looking forward to this day, when our district, for the first time in nearly a year, would have representation in the State House. Due to my opponent’s eleventh-hour lawsuit and election denialism more broadly, my swearing-in has been temporarily delayed,” Scarsdale said.
Scarsdale continued, “This new and dangerous trend of not just denying election results, but using frivolous, disingenuous methods to delay the certified winner from taking her seat is chilling, and it poses a direct threat to our democratic process and the values we cherish in the Commonwealth and in our great country.”
Additionally, Scarsdale urged the Special Committee to work expeditiously and said she was looking forward to its review of the election, believing it would uphold the results of the general election and subsequent recount.
“In the meantime, I continue to dedicate myself to all six communities in my district. In the coming days, I will announce opportunities for constituents to meet with me and share their priorities for the new legislative session. I am excited to continue to advocate for our communities as a seated member of the House of Representatives, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to deliver real results for my district this session,” Scarsdale said.
In a statement, Shepherd said he was “heartened” by Mariano’s decision to delay seating Scarsdale.
“I’m heartened to hear that Democrat Speaker of the House Ron Mariano has delayed the seating of Margaret Scarsdale while there is a review of the merits of our case, further solidifying that this legal complaint is not election denialism, but a review of serious irregularities under the smallest of margins. We hope this review will be used to strengthen the voting process throughout the Commonwealth,” Shepherd said.
