Todd Angilly began his campaign for the position of Essex County Clerk of Courts in March and looks toward the final days of the race.
Originally from Warwick, Rhode Island, Angilly graduated from Plymouth State University with the goal of becoming a teacher. His career goals shifted when he worked as a probation officer.
He said he remembers thinking, “it was meant to be” and “this is what I want to do.”
He now serves as the Director of Workforce Development with the Executive Office of Public Safety after his career in the courts as a probation officer.
Angilly said he has always had an interest in politics from a young age, and that it only grew when he worked on multiple campaigns during college. He always had the goal of running for an elected office.
“I identified Clerk of Courts because it was that position that could bring me back into the court system,” Angilly said.
The job description “calls for the Clerk of Courts to engage the public — the community — to create a pathway to the community, to open up the court and engage the community,” Angilly said.
He said the job is an administrative position and he plans to engage the community and raise additional awareness on what the role entails
“There is a significant number of people throughout Essex County who do not know what the Clerk of Courts is and do not know what the position is,” Angilly said. “I’ve been very happy and have enjoyed explaining to people what it is… It’s been a constant battle to educate people.”
Angilly is running as an independent candidate and said it’s an important part of his campaign.
“I feel probably as strongly about this as anything,” Angilly said. “This position is solely situated in the court system… I don’t think political parties should be in the court system. I think it promotes the wrong message.”
November 5th’s election includes independent candidate Doris Rodriguez, of Methuen, and Swampscott resident and incumbent democratic candidate Tom Driscoll, who is seeking his fifth consecutive six-year term since he was first elected in 2000.
