Fitchburg voters return Sally Cragin to City Council

FITCHBURG, Mass. — On Nov. 4, 2025, Fitchburg City Councilor-at-Large Sally Cragin “topped the ticket” in her reelection bid with 2,714 votes — just nine ahead of City Council President Anthony Zarrella, in the City Council race. This is the second time Cragin has placed first in a race for five at-large seats with 10 candidates on the ballot.

Cragin is the first Armenian American elected to public office in Fitchburg and north Worcester County. She was first elected to Fitchburg School Committee in 2007 and then to City Council in 2021. She is the current chair of economic development for the council and also serves on the legislative and city property subcommittees. 

She draws inspiration from her family’s story. Cragin’s grandfather, Krikor “George” Mirijanian, was a child survivor of the Armenian Genocide, fleeing his town of Arapkir when Ottoman soldiers invaded. Her grandmother’s parents, Mardiros “Martin” and Varteh “Rose” Manooshian, survived the Hamidian Massacres of 1894-1896. Both families eventually settled in Fitchburg, an industrial city of 42,000 in north Worcester County. 

“My grandparents and our whole family worked at the family business, a dry-cleaning chain called Star Cleaners,” Cragin recalled. “This business gave the next generation, including my mother, the opportunity to attend college and have more choices in life.” 

Cragin’s mother, the late Janet Mirijanian Cragin, was deeply involved in local arts and cultural groups during her life, serving on the library board in Lunenburg and as chair for Stratton Players, the longest-running community theater organization in the region. 

“My mom was a lifelong teacher of kindergarten-age children, and was enormously generous with her time and talent,” Cragin said. “She was a huge inspiration for me, so when my friend Lisa Wong ran for mayor back in 2007 — when the city was on the verge of receivership — I was the mother of a young son and realized that by running for school committee, I could help improve the schools for all children.”

Cragin lives in Fitchburg with her family: husband Chuck Warner; daughter Jet, an 11th grader at Fitchburg High School; and son Christopher Tigran, a freshman at UMass-Amherst, majoring in Middle Eastern studies. 

“We are really proud of our son’s interest in this part of his heritage,” Cragin stated. “There is not a lot of family — nor Armenian folks — out this way, but we make an effort every year to get us all together.”

Her family includes her uncle George M. Mirijanian, executive director of the Wachusett Chess Club and host of FATV’s “Chess Chat,” who participate each year in raising the Armenian flag in Fitchburg around April 24, and in hosting an Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day event at Leominster Library during the same week. 

“A feeling of relief, awe and sadness — to be descended from survivors of horrific crimes, people who were lucky to escape with their lives — does travel through the generations,” she said. “As a city councilor, I am here to support all our residents, but especially those who are most vulnerable: children, seniors, veterans and the poor, who comprise a large selection of Fitchburg’s residents. 

“My mother always said, ‘If you need another pair of hands,’ whether it was organizing a gigantic dinner, a play or some town event — and I say exactly the same thing. When you are Armenian, you are here to help everyone.”

After the 2020 Artsakh War, Cragin created the Facebook page, “Fitchburg Gyumri (And Beyond) Arts Connection”, to showcase the work of Armenian artists, writers and musicians, and to provide a social media space for celebrating unique Armenian culture. 

You may reach out to Sally Cragin at sallycragin@gmail.com.

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