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Date: 11/9/2021
AGAWAM — With 10 candidates, last week’s School Committee race was the widest in recent memory, but for the last of the six seats available, it was also the tightest.
Challengers Michael Perry and Catherine McDougal finished with 2,005 and 2,000 votes in the preliminary counts released on election night, Nov. 2. The next day, Town Clerk Vincent Gioscia confirmed that McDougal had started the process of requesting a recount. Even with a gap of only five votes, the procedure is not automatic, Gioscia said.
“No recount can be scheduled until the recount petitions are returned and certified,” he said. McDougal has until 5 p.m. on Nov. 12 to submit the paperwork.
Whether she ends up in sixth or seventh, McDougal said she is proud of her showing as a first-time candidate, and surprised to have received as many votes as she did, given that her campaign got off to a late start.
“While I finished seventh in the election, it was by a margin of only five votes, and that’s something to be proud of,” she said.
Perry was not available for comment in time for The Reminder’s deadline.
All four incumbent School Committee members running for re-election finished in the top six, with Shelley Borgatti-Reed leading with 2,981 votes, and Wendy Rua (2,535), Dawn Dube (2,395) and Kerri O’Connor (2,252) also earning additional two-year terms. Challenger A.J. Christopher finished second overall, with 2,647 votes.
“I am grateful and humbled by the support I was given in the polls,” Christopher said. “I am looking forward to serving as a member of the committee and contributing to moving Agawam education forward for the years to come.”
Christopher said his first priority will be to continue developing programs of study for non-college-bound graduates.
“In addition to these programs, we should formulate a curriculum to ensure our students are best prepared for state regulated tests such as MCAS and SATs.”
Christopher added, “I am committed to initiate and maintain open communication with our state reps and state senator to ensure our voice is being heard and represented in Boston. This is especially critical now that the mayor has begun the process of pursuing a new high school.”
All in all, Christopher’s message to the people is “thank you.”
“I would like to recognize my wife Dina for her love and unwavering support during this process, as well as my two children Stella and Thomas,” he said. “I am fortunate to be surrounded by individuals who act as consultants and sounding boards for me, and to them I am also grateful.”
Rua, who finished third, said she believes that the large number of contenders pushed all the candidates even harder to do their best. She recognized and thanked the people of Agawam who voted for her.
“I look forward to continuing to serve my community. This has been a very challenging time to be a School Committee member. Never have we faced the intensity of issues that we have been tasked with problem-solving as during this pandemic. Everyone is in this together and we will continue to persevere.”
In the new term, Rua said she will continue to be accessible to her constituents and be open, honest, and transparent through her communication with them.
O’Connor said she believes voters re-elected her based on her truth, constant availability and advocacy for the community.
She said, “There are strengths and weaknesses amongst all of us. I believe that those who have a positive impact regarding being active and not engaging in negativity are the ones who were elected by our voters.”
O’Connor said the School Committee has a lot of work to do. Her priority lies in the social and emotional needs of students.
The candidates who finished below McDougal were Stephen Davis (1,915 votes), Robert Lawler (1,612) and Edward Champigny (1,362).
Davis said that as a new candidate who wasn’t a “big in-town name to get elected,” he was not surprised at the outcome.
“Considering how much my position on the ballot helped, I thought I did pretty well,” he said. Davis added, “It would have been a good idea to look deeper into the candidates that I did not know much about and see how they felt about the issues in schools and in town. It also would have helped to look into the campaign tactics of some of the candidates (new and incumbent) to get an idea of the level of outreach options I should have considered.”
Davis expressed gratitude to everyone who voted for him.
With two young kids in the school system, Davis knows he will stay informed with what’s going on with the committee. He said he is unsure if he will run again in 2023, but will evaluate it based on what the current members accomplish.
Borgatti-Reed, Dube, Lawler and Champigny did not respond to emails seeking comment on the election results in time for The Reminder’s deadline.
All of the School Committee members will serve a two-year term. The new term will begin in January 2022.