By Joseph Domelowicz Jr.
The Everett City Council and School Committee met Monday night in Joint Convention at Everett City Hall for the sole purpose of voting to fill the vacancy created by the tragic passing of longtime Ward 5 School Committeeman Robert Carreiro in October.
Despite his passing nearly a month before the election, Carreiro still received the most votes for the seat on Election Day. However, the man who received 459 write-in votes to succeed Carreiro, Everett resident Marcony Almeida-Barros, was one of two men to be nominated Monday night to fill the temporary vacancy until January 1. The other, Donald Concannon, who earned 250 Election Day votes as a write-in candidate, also received some consideration by the Joint Council.
City Councilor Rosa DiFlorio, a longtime family, friend of Almeida-Barros, nominated her neighbor for the position, with the nomination being quickly seconded by School Committeeman Frank Parker.
When Council President Anthony DiPierro asked if there were any other nominations, Councilor Stephen Simonelli nominated Concannon, a motion that was seconded by School Committeeman Lester MacLaughlin.
In the end, Almeida-Barros received 14 votes from the Joint Convention, to three votes for Concannon.
Following his election and swearing-in by City Clerk Sergio Cornelio, Almeida-Barros offered brief remarks thanking the Council, School Committee and the Everett voters for their support and also noted the years of dedication of his predecessor Carreiro.
Finally, he reached out to Concannon with an invitation to work together going forward.