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| By Michelle Symington MetroWest Reminder Assistant Editor WEST SPRINGFIELD Residents in West Springfield will see many familiar faces in their government, as all incumbents who ran for re-election regained their seats. City Council President Edward Sullivan and District 4 City Councilor James Welch, who is also a state representative, decided not to run for re-election, leaving two open seats for newcomers. George Kelly, incumbent at-large councilor, obtained the most votes, receiving 2,422 votes. He was followed by incumbents Kathleen Bourque ( 2,396 votes), Gerard Matthews (2,286 votes), and Paul Buodo (2,240 votes). Newcomer Brian Griffin was elected to an at-large position with 1,653 votes, defeating his opponents Robert Vogel, who received 1,494 votes and Ralph Shapiro, who received 1,295 votes. One incumbent district councilor faced a challenger for his position. Michael Finn received 924 votes defeating his challenger Robert Mancini, who received 352 votes. Angus Rushlow, District 1 councilor, and Cynthia Romaniak, District 2 councilor, were unopposed and will continue to serve in their positions. Newcomer John Sweeney ran unopposed for the District 4 seat, that is currently filled by Welch, who decided continue his term as City Councilor then move on to concentrate on his duties as state representative. In addition to all City Council incumbents regaining their seats, each of the School Committee members were re-elected. School Committee member Nancy Farrell received the most votes with 2,478, followed by members Joseph Foresi (2,332 votes), Kathleen Alevras (2,310 votes), Daniel Sullivan (2,180 votes) and Peter Andrew (2,133 votes) and Patricia Garbacik (2,089 votes). Vernon Coleman, the one challenger for School Committee, received 2,033 votes. Mayor Edward Gibson, who ran unopposed, was re-elected to his position. Gibson, the city's first mayor, will serve another two-year term. Residents in West Springfield were also faced with eight ballot questions regarding changes to the City Charter. Seven of the eight questions passed. Residents voted "yes" on the following questions, with summaries provided by the City Clerk's Office prior to the election: Question 1 An "amendment to the Charter provided a method of filling a vacancy in the offices of president and/or vice president of the Council should a vacancy occur." Question 2 The amendment "requires notice of discipline of a department head be filed with the Department of Human Resources rater than the Office of the Town Clerk as is currently the case." Question 3 Allows "the president of the Council to assume the Office of Mayor, when a vacancy occurs during the last nine months of the mayor's term of office, without having to give up his current employment for the balance of the Mayor's term of office only." Question 4 Reduces "the time, before the beginning of the fiscal year, when the mayor must submit the annual Operating Budget to the Town Council for review and action thereon from 90 days to 60 days." Question 6 Reduces "the time, before the beginning of the fiscal year, when the mayor must submit the Capital Improvement Program to the Town Council for review and action from 120 days to 90 days." Question 7 "Corrects an error in the appointment schedule of members of the Park and Recreation Commission." Question 8 Allows "the preliminary election, if required, to be held so that it would not have to be held during the Eastern States Exposition's (known as the Big E) annual fair." Members of the community voted "no" against Question 5, which "would delete the requirements that department heads inform the Chief Financial Officer, by August of each year how much the department's annual budget will be expended in each quarter of the current fiscal year and that quarterly expenditures greater than the estimate be either waived the remaining allotments be adjusted." |