Tracy Valletti was elected to the Peabody Municipal Lighting Commission (PMLC) at a joint meeting between City Council and PMLC Feb. 21 at the Wiggin Auditorium at City Hall.
All seven candidates who submitted letters of interest in the position, which was left vacant following the resignation of former Commissioner Charles Bonfanti, were nominated. In addition to Valletti that list included Thomas Pappas, William Bacon, Edward Colbert, Mark Nazzaro, Nancy Verrocchi and Robert Wheatley.
Valletti and Pappas were the only two candidates receiving votes, with Valletti prevailing on the first vote of the evening, 10-5.
“I’ve done a lot for Peabody during my 30 years living here and I want to do more,” Valletti said.
Valletti received strong support from the council with nine votes cast by Ward 4 Councilor Julie Daigle, Councilor-at-Large Thomas Gould, Councilor-at-Large Anne Manning-Martin, Ward 2 Councilor Peter McGinn, Councilor-at-Large Ryan Melville, Ward 6 Councilor Mark O’Neill, Ward 3 Councilor Stephanie Peach, Councilor-at-Large Jon Turco, and Ward 1 Councilor and City Council President Craig Welton. Commissioner William C. Aylward also voted for Valletti.
Ward 5 Councilor David Gamache and Councilor-at-Large Thomas Rossignoll were the only two councilors voting for Pappas. Commissioners Thomas Paras, Thomas D’Amato and Raymond Melvin also voted for Pappas.
In 2021, Valletti lost a bid to be elected to the commission, running on “a message of balancing increased renewable energy sources with low rates.”
During her presentation Tuesday night, she said that she believed the election results demonstrated that there is a “public appetite” for the positions she took in her campaign.
“I bring extensive managerial experience and compelling business for the future,” said Valletti, adding she never spent a penny that didn’t need to be spent in her professional career.
PMLP’s peaker plant, known as Project 2015A, was a hot topic during the meeting.
Valletti said that while she may have had concerns, she knows that the peaker plant will be “up and running in a few short months” and she is committed to Peabody going green, saying she is “excited” about the push to become a green community.
She reminded the council that it was a year ago this week that they voted to go green and that if the city’s application is accepted, $250,000 in a grant will be available, with other grants coming in the future, to support the initiative.
The meeting got a bit tense when Paras asked Valletti to explain the disadvantages “that we have to put up with to be a green community…the commitments we’d have to make and the disadvantages in the community.”
After Valletti said “there are none,” she said she “would like to hear that from (Paras) as there are none.”
Valletti wrapped up her presentation saying that she learned she was not in a position to stop the peaker plant, and had shifted her focus to learning more about green communities and how they help Peabody residents.
“I want to help bring solutions to Peabody,” she said. “I am not going to stop the peaker, if that’s what you are asking.”
D’Amato said that while he has not always agreed with Valletti, he applauded her energy and efforts.
Daigle said that Valletti has followed the work of the commission and been active in the push to go green.
Peach noted that while Valletti came up short in the election, she still has “a willingness to serve,” adding she has shed a “huge light” on the fact that Peabody has an elected light commission.
Valletti is the founder and owner of Northeast Care Management and Consultants, LLC, and has worked in the healthcare industry since 2002.
She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, and a Master of Science in gerontology and management of aging services at UMass Boston. She is a former member and president of the Library Board of Trustees, the Peabody Lions Club, the YMCA Advisory Board, and the Peabody Cultural Collaborative Board.
The PMLP serves all of Peabody and a portion of Lynnfield (an autonomous subdivision of the City of Peabody). With approximately 26,000 customers, PMLP is the third largest of 40 municipal electric utilities in the Commonwealth. PMLP power supply comes from a variety of sources throughout the Northeast, including two generators in Peabody owned and operated by PMLP. This local generation supports the regional power grid, but also serves as an emergency backup for PMLP customers in case of a grid failure.
