Boronski, Punderson sworn into office
Date: 12/26/2012
By Chris Maza
news@thereminder.comEAST LONGMEADOW — Selectman Paul Federici helped usher in a new era in the town of East Longmeadow by greeting two new members to the Board of Selectmen at its Dec.19 meeting.
"First of all, I would like to welcome two new members to the board — Peter Punderson and Debra Boronski," he said at the start of the meeting.
Boronski and Punderson each won seats on the board in the town's Dec. 18 special election, marking the end of a period of uncertainty regarding the board.
They were sworn in on the morning of Dec. 19 and were again publicly at the meeting. With the reorganization of the Board of Selectmen, Paul Federici now takes over as its chair. Boronski will act as the board's clerk and Punderson will serve as the chair of the Board of Health.
The board's upheaval began in July when former Selectman James Driscoll announced his intentions to resign in September, citing conflicting time commitments associated with his new position as national sales manager for Secure Bill Pay, based in St. Paul, Minn.
However, Driscoll put his resignation on hiatus when former Selectman Enrico "Jack" Villamaino abruptly resigned from the board on Aug. 22 after being implicated in media reports as the mastermind of a scheme to steal votes via illegally obtained absentee ballots during his bid for the state representative seat for the Second Hampden District.
Federici and Driscoll agreed on Sept. 11 that the town would host a special election to fill Villamaino's seat and that Driscoll's seat would also be up for election and he would resign the day after the vote.
Boronski won the election for Villamaino's seat, which expires in April 2014, over write-in candidate Bryan Doe by a margin of 985-628.
"I'm feeling very grateful, first and foremost that the residents chose me," she said. "I am looking forward to digging right in and making sure I have time in my calendar to go to the monthly department head meetings and meeting with them and getting to know them more closely."
Boronski added that the town's personnel policies would be her first priority.
Punderson defeated Angela Thorpe by a mere 12 votes — 836-824 — for Driscoll's position, which expires in April 2013. Doe received 39 of 44 write-in votes for the seat he was not vying for.
Because of the small margin of victory, Thorpe announced she would be asking for a recount.
"I have the utmost respect for [Town Clerk Thomas] Florence, his staff, and their ability to properly conduct an election. The fact that this race is so close — I'm told one of the closest Board of Selectmen elections in recent history — and especially considering the recent actions of former selectman Villamaino regarding election fraud, I think the voters of East Longmeadow deserve the reassurance of a second look at this elections results. I'm told that the process is quick and not of great expense to the town. I thank everyone for their support," she said.
Florence told the Board of Selectmen that in order for a recount to take place, Thorpe must attain a recount petition on which she must receive at least 10 signatures from each of the town's four precincts and explain the reason she is requesting the recount and whether she wishes to have the ballots recounted electronically or manually.
The petition must be returned to the Clerk's Office within 10 days of the election.
"She has until Dec. 28 at 5 p.m. or before to get the papers in," Florence said.
Once the signatures are certified, the Board of Registrars has 72 hours to set a date for the recount.
"It looks like it may be after the first of the year," Florence said.
In addition to members of the Elections Committee, a police officer and Town Counsel James Donahue must be present for the recount. Thorpe may also be present and the recount is open to the public.
Boronski asked if the recount would affect the board's ability to conduct town business in the interim, to which Florence said that because the board members had been sworn in, they could legally operate normally.
In spite of the impending recount, Punderson said he was pleased that the residents of East Longmeadow showed faith in him.
"The town won," Punderson said. "The town, with Paul Federici, Debra Boronski and Pete Punderson, now has a solid governing body that is honest, straightforward and transparent and will have answers to questions and will be procedurally correct."
Punderson added that he got thrown right into the fire as the first phone call he received as a selectman was from Town Administrator Nick Breault was to notify him of the bomb threat at Birchland Park Middle School. Punderson went on to say that he went to the school and did what he could to help.
