Ex-FBI agent fills out field for state rep seat By Mike Stucka

Published: 12/11/2007 Salem Evening News
By Mike Stucka
Staff writer

MARBLEHEAD - The competition to replace former state Rep. Doug Petersen of Marblehead makes it likely that voters of both parties will have to make substantial decisions in two elections.
Cesar Archilla will challenge Lori Ehrlich and Tanya DeGenova will face John Blaisdell on Feb. 5, the same day as the state presidential primary. The final election for the state representative for Marblehead, Swampscott and part of Lynn will be March 4.
In the Democratic race, Archilla, a lawyer from Swampscott, is facing Ehrlich, an environmental activist from Marblehead. For the Republicans, DeGenova, a security consultant and retired FBI agent from Marblehead, will fight for the party's nomination against Blaisdell, another retired law enforcement officer, who served as a Marblehead cop, court officer and corrections officer.
No other candidates have pulled papers, election officials said yesterday.
DeGenova said her interest in politics was bolstered when she became one of the first FBI agents rushing to Ronald Reagan's hospital after an assassination attempt by John Hinckley. She helped investigate the attempt and, after retiring in Marblehead, was mentored by longtime Republican activist Pat Warnock.
A first-generation immigrant, DeGenova was born in Germany and almost immediately moved to Morocco; English is her fourth language, after Russian, French and German. She said she understands what law-abiding immigrants - and even Americans who move to Marblehead - face in their assimilation. She's also interested in environmental issues and making housing affordable for seniors, veterans and the less fortunate.
"There are a lot of issues, quite frankly. The challenge is trying to prioritize them," she said.

DeGenova, 58, has a master's degree in international relations from Georgetown University. She said her experience as a manager in the FBI taught her how to work effectively with government agencies.
According to his law firm's Web site, Archilla worked for 12 years as a banker with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He graduated law school in 1998 and then served as an assistant district attorney for more than six years.
Archilla is now an associate attorney with Andrews & Updegraph in Salem. He received a law degree from Suffolk University. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The final composition of the race isn't decided. Any potential candidate has until Dec. 26 to file 150 signatures.
Citizens must register to vote by Jan. 16 to vote in the primary election.
The race has already lost as many candidates as remain. People who have since dropped public discussion of their potential candidacies include Marc Paster, a Swampscott selectman and previous Democratic challenger to Petersen; Sharon Randall, a Marblehead attorney who challenged Petersen as a Republican; Reid Cassidy, a former Swampscott selectman; and his brother, Tim Cassidy, a Swampscott police detective who ran for Swampscott selectman this year.