Voters will head to the polls Tuesday in a special election to fill the vacant state representative seat in the 12th Essex district. The district comprises Peabody Wards 1-4 and Ward 5, Precincts 1 and 3 only. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Three candidates are vying for the seat formerly held by the late Joyce A. Spiliotis, a Peabody Democrat who died Nov. 29 of cancer. Competing are Republican Leah Cole, a first-time candidate; Democrat Beverly A. Griffin Dunne, a School Committee member; and independent David Gravel, a city councilor at large.
Peabody