L’Italien Announces State Rep. Candidacy

It's official. Former State Rep. Barbara L'Italien of Andover is running for state representative for the Essex 18th District.

L'Italien held that seat for eight years before being defeated by Rep. Jim Lyons in 2010.

“This is my home," she said in a statement announcing her candidacy. "I was born here, attended Merrimack College and am fortunate enough to have raised my four children here. I understand the local issues that people in this community care about—jobs, schools, and family."

After her 2010 defeat, L'Italien began working as State Treasurer Steve Grossman's director of government affairs, and she says her work in creating funding opertunities for local small businesses through the Small Business Banking Partnership helped to create jobs and shrink the ubnemployment rate in the state.

L'Italien also took swings at Rep. Lyons.

“For the past two years we’ve had nothing but a representative who is only interested in partisanship and pushing an extreme Tea Party agenda,” said L’Italien. “He has no credibility, no authority, and has delivered no results. My neighbors in this district deserve better than what they have today.”

L'Italien is running on bipartisanship and effective government, which she says sets her apart from Lyons.

“If we want results, then we need to roll up our sleeves and work together,” said L’Italien, who worked closely with both Democrats and Republicans as a State Representative," she said. “We don’t need a loudmouth – we need a strong and reasoned voice that gets results. As a state representative I built a reputation as someone who worked with both political parties to get things done – and I delivered.”

L’Italien cited maintaining North Andover’s local aid, pushing Verizon to remove telephone poles from around the North Andover Common, and fighting for improvements to route 93 to benefit Tewksbury as examples of her effectiveness in getting things done.

“These projects and policies are not ideological battles," she said. "These are things that are important to our residents and communities. How are we supposed to get anything done with Jim Lyons refusing to work with individuals just because of their party?”

L’Italien lives on Harper Circle in Andover with her husband of 26 years, Kevin Hall. They have four children: Rudy, 22; Allie, 20; Sam, 18; and Andrew, 14.   L’Italien’s mother Claire also lives with the family.