Globe: New Housing Authority Member A 23 Year Old Prodigy

When the town cast ballots in its April 9th town election, much of the focus was on the race for an open selectman's seat and for two open school committee seats, as well as a contested assessor's race.

Other races in Lynnfield were not contested – and for the two-year opening on the Lynnfield Housing Authority, nobody even bothered to officially run at all, leaving that ballot spot blank on April 9th. With that, it was up to write-in candidate to take the uncontested seat.

As noted back on April 12 on Lynnfield Patch in the complete town election results, a total of 23 write-in candidates ended up splitting a total of 29 votes. Six of those write-in votes went to Michael Walsh, while town resident John Cafuzzo was the only other resident to get more than one vote (He got 2).

This week, the Boston Globe ran a profile of the newest member of the Lynnfield Housing Authority. Walsh, 23, reportedly asked his parents and two siblings to vote for him when he learned of the empty ballot spot. He is the son of Lynnfield's Assistant Fire Chief John Walsh, and of Maura Walsh, the chair of the Lynn English Science Department and a Lynnfield call paramedic.

The Globe noted that Walsh, who was home schooled as a youngster, attended Suffolk University and got a bachelor's degree in political science around age 18 (he's apparently its youngest graduate) and is also one of the youngest Massachusetts residents to ever pass the state bar exam. Along with interning for local political figures like Richard Tisei, Walsh reportedly got his start in civic life as an 11 year old member of Boy Scout Troop 48 in Lynnfield who led an initiative to have a town flag put up over town hall.