Gregoire wins 4th District primary; She'll vie with Vigeant for seat.

Byline: Elaine Thompson

MARLBORO - In a battle between two 20-somethings, Danielle Werner Gregoire handily beat Matthew A. Giancola in the 4th Middlesex District Democratic primary last night, by a margin of nearly 3-1. The 29-year-old lawyer will face 51-year-old Marlboro City Council President Arthur G. Vigeant in the November general election. Mr. Vigeant is a Republican who has been in local politics for more than 15 years.

"I'm so excited," Ms. Gregoire said in a telephone interview last night. "We're energized about November. We worked really hard to get where we are today. Now we just have to work harder."

Ms. Gregoire and Mr. Vigeant, both lifelong Marlboro residents, will vie for the 4th Middlesex state representative seat formerly held by Democrat Stephen P. LeDuc, also a Marlboro native. Mr. LeDuc stepped down in February to become second assistant clerk magistrate at Marlboro District Court. The district includes Marlboro, Berlin and Precinct 1 of Southboro.

Ms. Gregoire received 2,206 votes to Mr. Giancola's 781. Of those, Ms. Gregoire received 179 in Southboro's Precinct 1 and Mr. Giancola got 53 votes, Ms. Gregoire said.

"We gave it everything we've got. It was a great campaign. We spoke with hundreds of residents about some of the important issues out there," Mr. Giancola said. He said this probably is not the last time that voters will hear from him.

The 23-year-old graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in May. He was president of the UMass Democrats and lobbied lawmakers for higher education funding. He said he decided to run for public office because of the "deadlock and corruption" on Beacon Hill. His platform was based on health care reform, increased local aid and improvements to roads and bridges. He also supported raising the minimum wage to keep in step with inflation.

Neither he nor Ms. Gregoire has held an elected political position. Ms. Gregoire, however, has five years of Statehouse service, having worked as an aide to Mr. LeDuc, the district's former representative. She has continued to work in the district office at the Statehouse since Mr. LeDuc's departure. Her grandfather, John Werner, was a Marlboro city councilor in the 1950s. Ms. Gregoire lost a bid for a City Council seat last fall to incumbent Ward 2 Councilor Paul R. Ferro.

A 1997 Marlboro High School graduate, Ms. Gregoire graduated cum laude from St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., with a bachelor's degree in criminal justice. While working full time for Mr. Leduc, she attended law school at night and graduated from Suffolk University Law School in 2006.

Ms. Gregoire's priorities as a candidate include garnering more education funding, a change in the funding mechanism for charter schools and special education, boosting economic development, and making public transportation more reliable and accessible.

"I think my experience really resonated with people," Ms. Gregoire said. "I think Matt has a lot of great ideas, but we had similar ideas."

She said although Mr. Vigeant, her Republican challenger in November, has been on the city council for 15 years, "he still has zero years in state government."

The 51-year-old father of three is serving his sixth year as council president. Before that, he was chairman of the Finance Committee. He is considered one of the most fiscally conservative members on the council. The Worcester State College graduate and certified public accountant established financial controls for the city's capital projects, budgeting and bonding criteria.

The well-known local politician surprised some when he received the endorsement of Marlboro Mayor Nancy E. Stevens, who is a Democrat. Seven of Mr. Vigeant's 10 colleagues on the city council also have endorsed him.

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Danielle Werner Gregoire, left, campaigns at the entrance to the Kane School in Marlboro with her mother, Joan, before last night's 4th Middlesex District Democratic primary victory.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/JIM COLLINS