Wakefield Voters Say Yes To Logo, Some New Faces

WAKEFIELD, MA — After all the Facebook wars, sign skirmishes and an actual official decision, the people have finally spoken: The Wakefield Warrior logo should stay.

An unofficial look at precinct-by-precinct numbers showed a few-hundred count advantage for the "Yes" side of a nonbinding question of whether to keep the logo. The vote was 2,851 in favor of keeping the logo, 2,337 in opposition. The numbers will change throughout the evening — Town Clerk Betsy Sheeran said there are some more ballots to hand-count — but it appears an insurmountable lead for the "Yes" side.

The School Committee last month already voted to drop the logo.

Incumbent Julie Smith-Galvin and former School and Finance Committee member Anne Danehy were elected to the two three-year Town Council seats. Political newcomer Brandon Flanagan finished third in the three-person race, roughly 400 votes behind second-place Smith-Galvin.

"I am deeply grateful to Wakefield voters for re-electing me to a second term on Town Council," Smith-Galvin told Patch. "I congratulate Anne Danehy and look forward to serving with her. I hope we can translate today's strong voter turnout into increased engagement in upcoming events and initiatives like the May 8th Town Meeting and the Vision 2030 effort."

At the School Committee, Zoning Board of Appeals member Ami Wall appears to have knocked off incumbent Greg Liakos for a one-year seat — the unofficial margin is roughly 70 votes. Meanwhile, former School Committee member Kevin Piskadlo overcame schoolteacher Dawn Millward for the two-year seat.

In other contested races, Theo Noell holds lead of a dozen or so votes over Joanne Scouler for a five-year spot on the Planning Board; Aimee Lominac, Paul Gordon, Scott Staiti were elected Library Trustees while Keith LaGraves finished fourth; and Shannon Arnold topped Sharon Janus for a one-year term on the Housing Authority.

Patch is working to compile the data. Check back throughout the night for the unofficial results in the races. Subscribe for free here for the latest information and follow on Twitter @PatchCarraggi

The nonbinding ballot question read: "Do you support keeping the Wakefield Warrior logo with Native American imagery as Wakefield Memorial High School's logo?"

The question comes a month after the School Committee voted to do away with the logo, which has been called offensive by many Native Americans.

A "No" result may have been enough to put the divisive issue behind the town as the School Committee works toward a new logo. Instead, the "Yes" result may renew fervor opposing the switch.

"I'm disappointed by the results," Nicole Calabrese, a leading voice of the Vote No Committee, told Patch after the results. "I certainly hope people from outside Wakefield understand this isn't a reflection of our entire town. Despite this ballot vote, we are a welcoming, inclusive community. Those of us on the Vote No Committee are dedicated to making that clear.

"We're now working to support the School Committee. They made the right decision with their vote earlier this year. We've always said human rights issues shouldn't be decided by popular vote. The School Committee took the right steps to educate themselves, learning why the local Massachusetts Native American tribes don't want to see demeaning representations of their cultures used as school mascots. This was a non-binding vote, so the School Committee's decision stands. I still applaud them for having the courage to make a decision that, while not popular, was the right one."

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Wakefield Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.