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Date: 5/10/2022
WILLIAMSBURG – The Annual Town Election on May 2 this year drew a heavy turnout of voters looking to settle the race for the Select Board seat of chair David Mathers. The results suggest the deep disagreement in town over the Mountain Road highway project, a major point of disagreement between the two candidates.
Mathers retained his seat with 198 votes while challenger Patrick Sumner received 106 votes. The strong support for Sumner, and the many voters who came out to support him, points up the decisive role the highway project played in the turn-out, according to the town’s chief elections official.
“There were quite a few people from Mountain Street who came out to vote,” said Town Clerk Brenda Lessard. “I do think that had something to do with it.”
This year, poll traffic was more than twice the rate of last year. Lessard tallied 313 total voters this year.
Sumner, a Mountain Road resident, sent out letters to voters, including contact information. Several residents asked Lessard about Sumner, but she recommended reaching out to him directly.
“They liked what he had to say,” Lessard said. She acknowledged the difficulty of defeating a sitting chair with many years on the Select Board. “It’s hard to beat an incumbent who’s been in town for a long time. I do think Patrick’s had a very good showing of votes, more so than I’ve ever seen before when someone ran against a Select Board member.”
The School Committee for the elementary school gained two new members for three year terms. Kathaleen Emerson received 41 votes and Glenda Cresto garnered 28 votes. The Hampshire Regional School Committee also gained two new members. One three-year seat will also be filled by Emerson after she received four of eleven write-in votes. A one-year seat will be filled by Karin McGowan, who also ran for moderator.
The race for moderator was very close. McGowan posted on Facebook that she voted for Kayla Solomon, her opponent, who prevailed with 130 votes. McGowan drew 127 votes for the one-year position.
Glen Everett will return to the Board of Assessors after receiving 282 of 313 votes. Donna Gibson, running unopposed for re-election, will return to the Board of Health. She received 277 votes.
Lessard set up 10 booths for voters to choose from. She commented that more booths were available, but the lines that did develop, didn’t last long enough to justify more booths.
“It stayed steady all day,” Lessard said. “There was twice when the lines were backed up, when people had to wait a little for the booths to open up, once in the afternoon and once in the morning.”
The Finance Committee, with three seats open, drew two new members in Gordon Allen and Melissa Lawrence-Zawadzki, who received 251 and 246 votes respectively. Incumbent member Richard Kisloski drew 239 votes.
Kisloski received 249 votes for the three-year post as Trust Fund/Cemetery Commission. Fred Goodhue and Eric Weber received one write-in vote each.
The Library Board of Trustees saw races for two seats of three years each. Charlotte Meryman garnered 264 votes while Frederick Goodhue drew 256 votes. Meryman, the current vice chair, and Goodhue are both incumbents.
The Water and Sewer Commission succeeded in filling two seats of three years each. Eric Cerreta and Paul Sanderson earned 268 and 272 votes respectively.
Incumbents Alan Golash and Benjamin Thompson will return to the Recreation Commission. They received 266 and 258 votes respectively. Elector Oliver Smith Will, a one-year seat, will be filled by Richard Kisloski, who won 250 votes.
Lessard drew 296 votes in the town clerk race, the most of any candidate. She returns to the clerk’s office for another three years. She commented that local elections are often more sparsely attended.
“It was a town election,” Lessard said. “I think there was a little more interest this year because of the two races.”