Date: 6/23/2021
LONGMEADOW – Longmeadow residents came out to vote on June 22, with 910 residents casting votes, approximately 7.56 percent of those eligible to vote in town.
Thomas Lachiusa was re-elected to his seat on the Select Board and will be joined by first-time Select Board member Josh Levine. Lachiusa, who has been on the Select Board since 2015 received 659 votes, while 654 votes were cast for Levine, who will fill the seat left vacant by Richard Foster’s departure.
Lachiusa stated, “It feels great to be reelected. I want to thank my wife Jeanne for her encouragement and guidance and all the voters who continued to give me support. Being in elected office takes some time to prepare for the decisions facing the town and time to figure out the areas of needed change that do not have an easy path to a meeting agenda. The next three years will be an opportunity to seek justice through forward thinking policies.”
Levine said, “I would like to thank my campaign volunteers and everyone who voted for me for Select Board. I look forward to working with the other members on important town issues and I hope to hear from residents about their concerns. Congratulations to the other newly elected or re-elected town officials!”
In the race for two School Committee seats, voters supported incumbent Bronwyn Monahan and she maintained her seat with 500 votes. Mary Keane was also elected with 614 votes. The third candidate, Zachary Verriden received 453 votes.
Following her win, Monahan stated, “I am very excited I was re-elected to the School Committee for another three year term.”
Keane also commented on her victory, “I am thrilled that I will have the opportunity to serve on the Longmeadow School Committee! Thank you for coming out on a rainy day to show your support. The best part of running a campaign was the opportunity to meet so many Longmeadow residents to talk about education! Thank you for sharing with me your perspectives and hopes for Longmeadow Public Schools. I am grateful to you for entrusting me with your vote.
“Thank you also to my campaign members who supported me throughout this process. And a special thanks to all the school-age children involved along the way – I hope there are future School Committee members among you!
“Congratulations to Brownwyn Monahan and Zach Verriden for running strong campaigns. I look forward to serving with Bronwyn and the other members of the School Committee, and I can’t wait to begin this important work.
Verriden shared, “I am very proud of the campaign we ran and the overwhelming love and support we felt throughout. Our message and our vision for what is possible in Longmeadow resonated with many people in the community and that is encouraging to me. While I am disappointed for the many residents who entrusted me with their vote, I am happy for Mary and Bronwyn and believe they will do a very fine job serving our schools – congratulations to both of them.”