Election Notebook: The Results Are In And We Have The Winners

Saturday, 3 p.m.

Good afternoon Tewksbury and welcome to our continuing coverage of the 2013 Tewksbury Municipal Election.

We are 5 hours away from the polls closing.

What do we know so far? Well, we're pretty sure that the sign holders are outnumbering the voters. Turnout has been extremely light -- disappointingly so, given that at least one new person will be added to the school committee and at least one new person will be added o the Board of Selectmen. There are also contested races for the Board of Health and Shawsheen Tech School Com.

As of 1 p.m., the total of number voters, by ward, were as follows:

1 -- 198

1A -- 205

2 -- 174

2A -- 167

3 -- 178

3A -- 189

4 -- 163

4A -- 243

For the record, as of November 2012 there were 21,514 registered voters in Tewksbury. In the 2012 Presidential Election, voter turnout was 75.2 percent (16,188 votes)

We're looking at something closer to 15-17 percent today.

If you have not yet voted -- do so. With a low turnout like this, your votes carries much more weight.

Saturday, 4 p.m.

• You generally don't see the "totem poll" signs in Tewksbury that you see in other towns. Those are the longer planks that hace placards for multiple candidates in multiple races on them. Now, i'm not sure if that's a bylaw or just tradition. Perhaps someone can educate me.
• Had an interesting chat with Board of Health Candidate Joe Knight, as he was holding a sign outside the Parks and Recreation polling place. Knight seems to think there could be some health concerns associated with an artificial turf field like the one proposed for the new field at the high school. Of particular concern was the chopped up rubber (from old tires) used as a cushioning agent. The chips fly up as players run on the surface and Knight brought up the potential for breathing in dangerous particulates.
• I'm presently in Study Room 2 at the Tewksbury Public Library. But I will need to shift, likely to Jimbo's, when the upstairs of the library closes at 5

Saturday 4:45 p.m.

• So, if you've been at the polling places, you likely have noticed some young people holding signs not associated with candidates. Those would be members of the Tewksbury High track team, which is holding a "mattress fundraiser" over at the high school. If you ve got time, swing over there, they have some great mattresses available And you have to love the young man dresses AS A MATTRESS across the street from the Parks and Recreation polling place.
• Time is winding down. Just over three hours until the polls close and we know who the new members of he Board of Selectmen and School Committee are.
• If you have photos or video clips from the polling places or sign-holding areas today, we'd love for you to upload them directly to this story!! Share them with your friends and neighbors.

Saturday, 7 p.m.

• This is it, the home stretch. Six weeks of campiagning is down to the final hour. We are still seeing numbers that are ridiculously low for voter turnout. With turnout this low ANYTHING can happen. Every vote is like gold at this point,
• Best signs of the day: I'm going to given them to Joe McKnight, who added the little medical symbol to his Board of Health signs. And Lisa Puccia, who added a nifty little sun to her School Committee signs. I don't know, they just seemed cheery.
• And as for Rick Menard's Green Man? I will leave that one alone.
• OK, just a reminder. This is going to be the place to come for your Election Results. We will be publishing the numbers right here as soon as they are announced.

Saturday, 8 p.m.

• OK, it's 8 p.m. and the polls have just closed. I'm heading to Town Hall to gather results and we will have them right here as soon as we get them.
• Any predictions?

Saturday, 9:10 p.m.

Here are your winners, with numbers to follow:

Johnson and Wentworth win for Selectmen

Meuse wins for Shawsheen Tech School Committee

Polimeno and Puccia win for School Committee

French and Kinnon win for three year term Board of Health

Barry wins for two year term Board of Health

Here are your Election Results by Race:

Results by Ward are attached to this story as a PDF file.

Election Results Votes Percentage Board of Selectmen (3 year term, vote for 2)
Todd Johnson
1,624 Jim Wentworth
1,449 Rick Menard
597 Ken Miano 449 Mary Ellen Fernald
384 Bob Marcin
236 Blanks 735 School Committee (3 year term, vote for 2) Krissy Polimeno
2,039 Lisa Puccia 1,276 Ray Lisiecki
1,129 Blanks 1,033 Shawsheen Tech School Comm. (3 year term, vote for 1) Patricia Meuse
1,605 Rick O'Neill
982 Blanks 155 Board of Health (2 year term, Vote for 1) Raymond Barry
1,154 Joseph Knight
1,000 Blanks 580 Board of Health (3 year term, vote for 2) Christine Kinnon 1,678 Philip French
1,638 James Killion
930 Blanks 1,226 Library Trustees (3 years terms, vote for 2) Eugene Walsh 1,889 Joseph Frank
1,847 Blanks 1,730 Housing Authority (5 year term, vote for 1) John Deputat
2,009 Blanks 729 Planning Board (5 year term, vote for 1) Robert Fowler
2,023 Blanks 693 Total Votes Cast 2,744 13.1 percent

 

For more on the 2013 Tewksbury Election:

Comprehensive 2013 Tewksbury Election Guide

Election 2013: Sample Ballot and Polling Locations

School Committee Candidates Q&A: Easing The Burden on Taxpayers

Shawsheen Tech Candidates Q&A: Is Shawsheen Tech Transparent Enough?

Selectmen Candidates Q&A: The Firefighters Contract Dispute