The race is on for state representative in Peabody.

City councilor Dave Gravel, who says he will be running for the open seat, has announced he will hold a fundraiser and campaign kickoff Jan. 25 at the Ancient Order of Hibernians Hall (7-10 p.m.).

Nomination papers are actually due back to the City Clerk's office Jan. 22, but Gravel tells the Salem News he has already stopped down for his papers.

You can find more details on the dates for the special election here.

Gravel, 56, is a three-term At-Large Councilor and former School Committee member and owner of GraVoc Associates. He will run as Unenrolled (or Independent).

The vacancy in the 12th Essex District seat was created with the death of popular Peabody Rep. Joyce Spiliotis in November.

School Committee member and local attorney Beverley Griffin Dunne, who was a close family friend to Spiliotis, was also headed down to City Hall to get her papers on Friday. Dunne has not announced a date for a campaign kickoff yet.

Dunne, 54, is a registered Democrat and a three-term member of the city's school board.

Former city councilor Jim Moutsoulas also says he plans to pull papers as a Democrat. Moutsoulas, 67, served as the Ward 3 Councilor from 1985-1997 and has run for both at-large seats and in the mayor's race in the years since.