Pavel Payano
2023 - Present
2027
2
Pavel Payano (Democratic Party) is a member of the Massachusetts State Senate, representing the 1st Essex District. He assumed office on January 4, 2023. His current term ends on January 6, 2027.
Payano (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Massachusetts State Senate to represent the 1st Essex District. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Pavel Payano earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 2006, an M.S. in public affairs from the University of Massachusetts at Boston in 2011, and a J.D. from Suffolk University in 2015.[1][2] Payano's career experience includes working as the director of community mobilization of The Social Innovation Forum, an SEIS teacher with the Collaborative for Educational Services, the outreach director of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, a special assistant and immigration specialist for former Congresswoman Niki Tsongas, and the New Hampshire Latino's Campaign co-director and a field director for Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.[1][2][3] He has served on the city council of Lawrence, Massachusetts, as the founding president of the Greater Lawrence Young Professionals Network, and on the board of directors of Lawrence Family Development, Inc.[1][4]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Committee assignments
Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.
2023-2024
Payano was assigned to the following committees:
- Joint Committee on Advanced Information Technology, the Internet, and Cybersecurity, Vice Chair
- Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures, and State Assets
- Cannabis Policy Joint Committee
- Community Development and Small Businesses Joint Committee, Chair
- Higher Education Joint Committee
- Municipalities and Regional Government Joint Committee
- Public Health Joint Committee
- Public Service Joint Committee
Elections
2024
See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2024
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District
Incumbent Pavel Payano won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Pavel Payano (D) | 96.3 | 39,632 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 3.7 | 1,515 | ||
| Total votes: 41,147 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District
Incumbent Pavel Payano advanced from the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District on September 3, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Pavel Payano | 98.7 | 7,115 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.3 | 95 | ||
| Total votes: 7,210 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Payano in this election.
2022
See also: Massachusetts State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District
Pavel Payano won election in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Pavel Payano (D) | 94.5 | 21,591 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 5.5 | 1,256 | ||
| Total votes: 22,847 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District
Pavel Payano defeated Eunice Zeigler and Doris Rodriguez in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District on September 6, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Pavel Payano | 51.2 | 5,685 |
 | Eunice Zeigler | 40.0 | 4,445 | |
| Doris Rodriguez | 8.6 | 955 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 21 | ||
| Total votes: 11,106 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Andy Vargas (D)
2018
General election
General election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Essex and Middlesex District
Barry Finegold defeated Joseph Espinola III in the general election for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Essex and Middlesex District on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Barry Finegold (D) | 62.8 | 35,854 |
| Joseph Espinola III (R) | 37.1 | 21,202 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 60 | ||
| Total votes: 57,116 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Essex and Middlesex District
Barry Finegold defeated Mike Armano and Pavel Payano in the Democratic primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Essex and Middlesex District on September 4, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Barry Finegold | 47.3 | 9,434 |
| Mike Armano | 32.2 | 6,426 | ||
| Pavel Payano | 20.5 | 4,098 | |
| Total votes: 19,958 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Essex and Middlesex District
Joseph Espinola III advanced from the Republican primary for Massachusetts State Senate 2nd Essex and Middlesex District on September 4, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Joseph Espinola III | 100.0 | 5,263 | |
| Total votes: 5,263 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2015
Six out of seven seats on the Lawrence School Committee were up for election on November 3, 2015. The seventh member is the Mayor of Lawrence, who was not up for election in 2015.
In the District C race, incumbent Pavel M. Payano defeated challenger Amy Berard. District E incumbent Patricia Mariano defeated Homayoun Maali. This was a rematch from 2013, as Mariano defeated Maali in that race.
In the races for Districts A, B, D, and F, no prospective candidates submitted nomination petitions for certification by the Lawrence Board of Registrars by the filing deadline on August 5, 2015. There was no organized effort by write-in candidates in the district with only two write-in names receiving the 50-vote minimum to serve on the committee. Kamal Bozkurt received 70 votes, and Emmanuel Castaneda received 62 votes in District A.[5]
The lack of competition for committee seats stemmed from a 2012 takeover of the district by state officials. The takeover occurred after the district was deemed chronically underachieving and placed in the hands of a receiver.[6] Under the takeover, the Lawrence School Committee was stripped of its authority to make substantive decisions outside of recommendations to the receiver.[7]
Results
| Lawrence School Committee, District C, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Pavel M. Payano Incumbent |
65.8% | 743 |
| Amy Berard | 33.9% | 384 |
| Write-in votes | 0.35% | 4 |
| Total Votes | 1,131 | |
| Source: City of Lawrence, "Certified Election Results," November 13, 2015 | ||
| Lawrence Public Schools, District C Primary Election, 2-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Pavel M. Payano Incumbent |
72.6% | 353 | |
| Nonpartisan | Amy Berard |
27.4% | 133 | |
| Total Votes | 486 | |||
| Source: Lawrence Election Division, "Municipal Preliminary Official Results," accessed September 19, 2017 | ||||
Funding
Payano reported no contributions or expenditures to the Lawrence Election Commission as of October 28, 2015.[8]
Endorsements
Payano did not receive any official endorsements in this election.
2014
Elections for the Massachusetts State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election was held on September 9, 2014, and a general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 3, 2014. Barbara L'Italien defeated Pavel Payano and Doris Rodriguez in the Democratic primary. Alex Vispoli was unopposed in the Republican primary. L'Italien defeated Vispoli in the general election.[9]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Barbara L'Italien |
49.6% | 24,559 | |
| Republican | Alex Vispoli | 43.4% | 21,529 | |
| None | Blank Votes | 6.9% | 3,405 | |
| None | All Others | 0.1% | 64 | |
| Total Votes | 49,557 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Barbara L'Italien |
53.6% | 6,757 |
| Pavel Payano | 36% | 4,541 |
| Doris Rodriguez | 10.4% | 1,306 |
| Total Votes | 12,604 | |
2013
- See also: Lawrence Public Schools elections (2013)
Payano ran unopposed to keep his District C seat in the general election on November 5, 2013.[10]
Results
| Lawrence Public Schools, District C General Election, 2-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Pavel M. Payano Incumbent |
97.8% | 1,703 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 2.2% | 39 | |
| Total Votes | 1,742 | |||
| Source: City of Lawrence, Massachusetts, "Official Election Results," accessed December 18, 2013 | ||||
| Lawrence Public Schools, District C Primary Election, 2-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Pavel M. Payano |
97.4% | 1,228 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 2.6% | 33 | |
| Total Votes | 1,261 | |||
| Source: City of Lawrence, Massachusetts, "Preliminary Election, Lawrence, MA," accessed September 18, 2013 | ||||
Funding
Payano began the race with an existing account balance of $63.10 from his previous campaign. He reported $1,175.00 in contributions but no expenditures to the Lawrence Election Division, which left his campaign with $1,238.10 on hand.[11]
Endorsements
Payano did not receive any official endorsements for his campaign.
2011
| Lawrence Public Schools, District C General Election, 2-year term, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Pavel M. Payano |
96.6% | 673 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 3.4% | 24 | |
| Total Votes | 697 | |||
| Source: Lawrence Election Division, "2011 Municipal Election - November 8, 2011," accessed August 8, 2013 | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Pavel Payano did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2022
Pavel Payano did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Payano participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ |
To ensure that the district gets out of receivership as soon as possible. [12] |
” |
| —Pavel Payano, (2015), [13] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Massachusetts. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "Modifications are required before they are implemented." | |
| "Yes." | |
| "No." | |
| "No." | |
| "More work needs to be done to ensure that we are challenging all of our students to become successful leaders of our community." | |
| "Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy." | |
| "Lawrence School Committee members should help the district create a comprehensive plan of action that will significantly improve the educational outcomes of the students in that school. These plans should be based on input from teachers, students, parents, and other community members. They should also be based on trends such achievement, student growth, graduation, teen pregnancy, bullying, and dropout rates." | |
| "Depends on the plan." | |
| "There has to be a comprehensive approach that holds all teachers accountable to high standards but also assists them in becoming better educational professionals. Simply removing teachers and hiring younger people is not the answer. We want to recruit teachers that care about the community and will stay in their profession for years to come." | |
| "By becoming more accessible to parents, students, and members of the community." |
2013
Payano's campaign website listed the following campaign themes:
| “ |
As School Committee Member he seeks to heal his community by energizing the youth and ensuring that the Promise Neighborhood is a success in Lawrence.[12] |
” |
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
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2024
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2024, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 31. Formal session ended on July 31, 2024 and an informal session was convened from August 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024.
|
2023
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show]. |
|---|
|
In 2023, the Massachusetts State Legislature was in session from January 4 to November 15.
|
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District |
Officeholder Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 LinkedIn, "Pavel Payano," accessed April 19, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pavel Payano, "Biography," accessed August 13, 2013
- ↑ Friends of Pavel Payano, "About," accessed August 13, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ City of Lawrence, "Municipal Election: November 5, 2019," accessed October 21, 2020
- ↑ Eagle-Tribune, " Write-ins carry the day for Lawrence School Committee," November 5, 2015
- ↑ WBUR, "Lawrence Schools Under State Control For At Least 3 More Years," June 8, 2015
- ↑ Eagle-Tribune, "Lawrence School Committee may dwindle to three in January," September 22, 2015
- ↑ Lawrence Election Commission, "Campaign Finance Reports and Information," accessed October 28, 2015
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "2014 State Primary Candidates," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ Keith Eddings, The Eagle-Tribune, "The field is set: Lantigua will face 5 challengers in primary," August 8, 2013
- ↑ City of Lawrence, Massachusetts, "Campaign Finance Reports Due," accessed December 23, 2013
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Pavel Payano's responses," October 5, 2015
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by - |
Massachusetts State Senate 1st Essex District 2023-Present |
Succeeded by - |
| Preceded by - |
Lawrence Public Schools school board, District C 2011-2017 |
Succeeded by - |
