AN AIDE TO former Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante intends to run for the open 5th Essex District seat and a former Rockport selectwoman also plans to jump into the race.
Both Democrats filed papers Monday to set up candidate committees in the House district that includes Essex, Rockport, Manchester-by-the Sea and Gloucester.
Ferrante, 53, died on Thanksgiving after a yearslong battle with pancreatic cancer. More than 1,600 people attended her funeral last week.
Dru Tarr, research and district director in Ferrante’s office, said he has the experience “to continue a legacy of service in delivering for the people of Cape Ann.”
A lifelong Gloucester resident, Tarr said his early supporters include Ferrante’s mother, two former Gloucester mayors, four city councilors, a school committee member and Register of Deeds Eileen Duff.
“I have spent the past nine years tutoring under the best mentor one could possibly have asked for,” Tarr wrote in a Facebook post. “Ann-Margaret Ferrante was not just my state rep, she was my teacher and friend. Every day with Ann-Margaret was a lesson. The legacy that she leaves is not just one of policies and programs, but of the people that she lifted up through her actions. I count myself fortunate to be among them.”
Tarr told the News Service Monday that he never considered running for public office.
“I really wish that my friend was still here to be the one doing the job,” he said.
With the 2026 elections set to unfold, Speaker Ron Mariano’s office on Monday did not respond to questions about a potential special election. State law does not specify a time frame to call for a special election.
A special election was called on Dec. 7, 2023 to fill former Rep. Peter Durant’s seat after he won his Senate bid. Mariano’s office in February 2024 decided not to hold a special election to fill the vacancy left by Rep. Josh Cutler after he resigned to join the Healey administration.
Sarah Wilkinson, who served on the Rockport Select Board for 18 years, intends to run for Ferrante’s seat.
“At her beautiful funeral service yesterday State Senator Bruce Tarr encouraged those of us in attendance to move forward and share the light that Ann-Margaret was,” Wilkinson wrote in a Facebook post Friday afternoon. “His words were both inspiring and overwhelming to me. Inspiring because as many of you know, my whole life I have felt a calling to serve others and my community. That calling is now louder now than ever before. Overwhelming because Ann-Margaret leaves enormous shoes to fill as she was the true definition of a faithful and dedicated public servant.”
Wilkinson called Cape Ann “one of the most special places on Earth” and said she wanted to share her decision “as we wait for the release of the details of the Special election.”
Dru Tarr told the News Service that he had not heard any details about the timing for a special election but said it’s his “understanding” that “there would be one called.”
Ferrante was first elected to the 5th Essex seat in 2008. Before Ferrante, the 5th Essex House district was represented by Rep. Anthony Verga.