Tewksbury Town Election Results: Incumbents Losses On Both Boards

TEWKSBURY, MA — Tewksbury voters opted for challengers in both contested races Saturday, voting out the incumbents on both the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee.

Todd Johnson and James Mackey, III, were elected to the Board of Selectmen, according to the unofficial results. Bridget Garabedian and Nicholas Parsons were elected to the School Committee.

Two-term selectman Mark Kratman and two-term School Committee member Jamey Cutelis were both voted out, each garnering about 20 percent of the vote.

Board of Selectmen winners

Johnson, 57, is an attorney who previously served 12 years on the Board of Selectmen before losing re-election in 2019. He campaigned on his experience, citing his time on the board during the Great Recession and arguing "proven professional leadership" is needed to respond to the coronavirus.

Mackey, 30, is a cybersecurity engineer and U.S. Army veteran. In his campaign, he focused on "the management of town finances" and "minimizing tax raises."

School Committee winners

Garabedian, 47, is a registered nurse and a member of the Tewksbury North and Trahan School Reuse Committee and the District Reopening Task Force. "I have the experience to be an effective and collaborative member of the Tewksbury School Committee on Day 1," she said.

Parsons, 27, is a high school chemistry teacher at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. In his campaign, he called attention to residents "choosing elsewhere for their children's education" and the town's high spending on out-of-district tuition.

Election Results

Unofficial results. Winners printed in bold type. Candidates for re-election are marked with an asterisk (*). Percentages may not add up to exactly 100 due to rounding.

Turnout: 8.5 percent of registered voters (1,999 out of 23,531)

Board of Selectmen (3-year term, 2 seats)

School Committee (3-year terms, 2 seats)

Board of Selectmen challenger George Ferdinand shared the following statement with the media:

"To My Supporters: It’s been my pleasure to carry forward your issues and I don’t have the words because thank you is just not enough. I will always think of you fondly. To the voters, you had your say and being on the BOH was a highlight of mine to represent you and our town. To the winners, you have great responsibility to the people and the town. It’s time for me to pass the baton to the next generation. If you remember anything I have ever said I hope it’s that you can never go wrong by serving people."

All other races were uncontested. The Board of Library trustees race, which had no filed candidates for two open seats, received 340 write-ins out of 1999 ballots.

Planning Board (one seat)

• Stephen Johnson*

Board of Health (two seats)

• Raymond Barry*
• Robert Scarano*

Housing Authority (one seat)

• Marc DiFruscia*

Shawsheen Regional Technical High School Committee (one seat)

• Cheryl Bartolone

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.