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Date: 11/14/2023
AMHERST — New names and faces will sit alongside those familiar to the community following the Nov. 7 Election Day results.
A reorganized Regional and Joint School Committee membership will emerge with a full compliment following several resignations and departures in the wake of a Title IX investigation and district leadership upheaval following allegations of improper conduct by staff members towards LGBTQIA+ students at Amherst Middle School.
Sarah Marshall, Bridget Hynes and Deborah Leonard are the new members of the Regional School Committee joining incumbent members Irv Rhodes and Jennifer Shaio. Rhodes with 2,753 votes and Marshall with 2,555 votes were the top vote getters followed by Shiao with 2,392, Leonard with 2,121 and Hynes with 1,988. Martha Del Carmen Toro and Laura Jane Hunter each received 1,870 and 1,798 votes respectively.
In the Town Council races, the seats will mostly not change hands as Cathy Shoen received 404 votes and retains her District 1 position next to the newly elected Ndfreke Ette who joins the council for the first time and received 305 votes. Challenger Vincent J. O’Connor received 241 votes in a losing bid for one of the seats.
Lynn Griesemer and Pat DeAngelis will keep their District 2 slots with 595 and 554 votes respectively, as they defeated challengers Amber Cano-Martin and Charlotte Allegra Clark, who received 396 and 293 votes respectively.
In District 3, familiar names Heather Hala Lord and George Ryan won their contest with 545 and 530 votes respectively, as they defeated challenger Patrick Drumm who received 320 votes.
The District 4 race saw Pamela Rooney with 374 votes and Jennifer Taub with 369 votes retaining their positions while current councilor Anika Lopes came up short with 330 votes in her bid to stay on the council. Newcomer Dillon Maxfield received 114 votes.
Ana Devlin Gauthier will retain her District 5 position for a second term, receiving 952 votes, while Finance Committee member Robert Hegner received 921 votes and takes the seat held by Shalini Bahl-Milne, who opted not to serve a third term.
At-Large Councilors Andrew Steinberg, Mandi Jo Hanneke and Ellisha Walker with 2,392, 2,261 and 2,191 votes respectively, all defeated their opposition to retain their council seats. Challenger Jamie Danielle Daniels received 2,044 votes and newcomer Matthew Holloway received 2,129 votes.
Political Action Group Amherst Forward, who endorsed several of the winning candidates issued a statement following the poll results.
“This election was proof positive that Amherst voters want experienced, collaborative, and optimistic town officials who will work hard to help Amherst thrive,” said Katherine Appy, chair of Amherst Forward. “Today’s election is yet another example of how positive civic engagement can better our community.”
Jones Library Trustees kept their makeup intact with the five incumbents seeking reelection winning their races alongside first-time elected trustee Eugene Goffredo, who received 1,886 votes. Current trustees In the order they appeared on the unoffical results, Farah Ameen, Tamson Ely, Robert Pam, Lee R. Edwards and Austin D. Sarat each received 2,553 votes, 2,339 votes, 2,615 votes, 2,387 votes and 2,512 votes, respectively. Newcomer Edward McGlynn received 1,073 votes in a losing bid.
David Williams retains his position with the Housing Authority, as he ran uncontested.
No one ran for the elector of the Oliver Smith Will, but 1,230 write-in votes were cast. The winner of this seat was finalized after Reminder Publishing’s deadline, according to Town Clerk Susan Audette. The result will appear in the Nov. 23 edition of The Reminder.
With 344 write-in votes, Judith D. Souweine was declared the elector of the Oliver Smith Will. For the housing authority, Kevin P. Collins received 10 write-in votes to win the second seat on that board.
Just under 33% or 4,480 of 13,700 registered cast ballots in the Nov. 7 election.
Managing Editor Dennis Hackett contributed to this report.