Celina Reyes is headed to Beacon Hill as the next state representative for the 16th Essex District after Tuesday's general election. Reyes, a Lawrence city councilor, small-business owner, union organizer and child care provider.
The win caps a path that began when Reyes unseated incumbent Francisco Paulino, according to the Eagle-Tribune, whose reporter Jill Harmacinski covered the race for the paper's Merrimack Valley section. The 16th Essex district covers parts of Methuen and Lawrence, according to WHAV. Accounts of the Democratic primary that set up Reyes's path to the seat differ: WHAV reported Reyes won 1,196 votes, or 65.9%, to Paulino's 619 votes, or 34.1%, while El Planeta reported the margin as 61.4% to 36.9%.
A Councilor's Record Becomes a Campaign Pitch
Reyes was first elected to the Lawrence City Council in 2019 and re-elected in 2023, per the same WHAV report, after breaking in as what a 2025 Eagle-Tribune report called a political newcomer elected as an at-large city councilor. On the trail, Reyes said her work has focused on educating children, organizing the community and fighting for workers, and she pointed to renovating two schools, street and sidewalk repairs, revitalized parks and alleyways, and a new police substation as examples of how she said she addressed community needs.
Reyes has described her work as bringing residents’ voices into city government.
Write-In Rival Pledges to Keep Working
Leonardo, who ran as a write-in candidate rather than appearing on the printed ballot, congratulated Reyes on her victory and said he remains in her service. He said that what they started together does not end with the election, and that Reyes should have great success, adding that he is ready to help Lawrence and Methuen going forward.
Leonardo said he woke the Wednesday after the election with a full heart, thanking those who supported what he called an uphill battle even though his name was not on the ballot. He said the campaign achieved something greater than an election and created a movement, a sentiment that echoed Reyes's own framing of the race as a beginning rather than a conclusion.
Paulino's Pending Case and a Broader Pattern
Paulino, the incumbent Reyes succeeded, has pleaded not guilty to all 11 counts brought against him, according to the WHAV report. The seed coverage from the Eagle-Tribune does not detail the charges beyond that plea, and no further specifics are included here.
Reyes's uncontested path to the general-election finish line fits a wider pattern this cycle: El Planeta reported that none of the Latino legislators it tracked across Greater Boston and the Merrimack Valley faced a rival on Tuesday's ballot. Statewide, the Massachusetts results tracked by NBC News showed the vote shifting 17.03 points toward Democrats compared with the 2024 presidential election.
Election Day fell on Tuesday, November 3, and Reyes waved to voters alongside supporters outside South Lawrence East Elementary School that day.
