Clark and Brodeur Unopposed In Fall Election

Editor's note: This article was corrected at 11:35 a.m. on Thursday by adding the Winchester Wards now included in the 5th Middlesex Senate district.

While the presidential campaign between incumbent Democrat Barack Obama and presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney will heat up this year, the 2012 election will be a little sleepier on the Melrose front.

Neither Sen. Katherine Clark, D-Melrose, nor Rep. Paul Brodeur, D-Melrose, the city's representatives in the state Senate and House respectively, will face a challenger in this fall's election on Nov. 6, 2012.

Would-be candidates for district and county offices, which includes the state Legislature, had until the end of the day on May 1 to submit nomination papers to local election officials for certification of the signatures required for nomination papers—300 signatures for state senator and 150 signatures for state representatives, according to Brian McNiff, spokesman in the Secretary of the Commonwealth's office.

Melrose Election Administrator Linda-Lee Angiolillo said that no candidates submitted the required signatures by the May 1 deadline to the Melrose Elections Office. Town and city clerks offices across Clark's and Brodeur's districts said the same, leaving both legislators unopposed this year.

Clark said she believed there are fewer challenges this year because of changes in the state Legislature two years ago, and more of a focus on the federal level races and open seats in the state Senate.

"Contested races are good for our democracy and make for, I think, strong candidates and strong policy," she said. "That being said, I am delighted to have the time this fall to work on a lot of the issues that are before the Revenue Committee, and especially to join my family on vacation in August."

One of the items before the Revenue Committee are recommendations from the state Tax Expenditure Commission, which Clark sat on and filed its report last month on how the state should handle the approximate $26 billion in tax breaks it makes available.

"It's very technical work and complicated work, and having the time to delve into that this fall is a great opportunity," she said.

While Clark will likely help campaign for colleagues facing Election Day opponents this fall, she'll still be out on the campaign trail for herself after redistricting added Melrose Wards 6 and 7 to her district.

"I have some new parts of my district, so even though it's not of the same intensity as 2010, we definitely will be running a campaign, getting out and introducing myself—especially to the new parts of the district," she said.

Under the , Clark's Fifth Middlesex Senate District now includes all of Melrose, Wakefield, Malden, Stoneham and Reading, and Winchester Wards 1, 2, 3 and 8.

Brodeur's 32nd Middlesex House District includes all of Melrose, Wakefield Precincts 4-6, and Malden Ward 5 Precinct 2.

Two years ago, then-state representative held since 1991 by then-state Sen. Richard Tisei, who ran as Republican gubernatorial candidate Charlie Baker's running mate. Brodeur, a Melrose alderman at-large, .