Jordan, Conti keep Selectmen seats
Published on April 8th, 1998
STONEHAM, MA - Experience proved to be a must in this year's Annual Town Election with voters siding with incumbents Patrick Jordan Jr., a Keene Street resident, and Pine Ridge Road resident Albert Conti for the two open Board of Selectmen seats.
Jordan (1,687 votes) and Conti (1,639) narrowly escaped with victories, beating out Town Clerk Annamae Arsenault (1,437) who will be resigning from her position on Thursday, April 16. Gordon Perks, a Seward Road resident, finished in fourth with 540 votes.
Conti, who will be serving his fourth consecutive term on the Board, expressed his gratitude with the victory.
"I'm elated to have prevailed here," he said. "It's a privilege to have won.
"I certainly expect to do a good job for the people who voted for me."
He explained that his time in public office may have been one of the factors in the outcome in addition to the votes he has tendered on past issues.
"I've been involved in public service for 22 years," Conti said. "I think that had something to do with it.
"I made decisions that I think the voters were in concert with. I'm just honored to have been victorious in this."
He said that the Board of Selectmen, Town Clerk and School Committee races were important for the voters of the town.
"I hope people will continue to be active in politics," Conti said. "You need as many people as you can to run in politics with their new ideas.
"The more the merrier in town politics."
In terms of his future on the Board, Conti said that he would like to see the progress he and the other members have made continue.
"I want to see the quality of water issue looked at closely," he said. "That's something that's very important to me. I want to see the subjects that we have on the books go through, like the common and the schools, and I want to make sure they get off to the right start.
"Hopefully we can do what the people wanted when they voted for these things. The main thing is to keep them fiscally responsible."
Jordan, who will be serving his second consecutive terms and third overall, said the outcome, while not totally unexpected, was still thrilling.
"I feel great about it," he said. "I'm thrilled. My family's thrilled and we're relieved.
"I'm just thankful to the people of Stoneham."
Jordan said his main area of concentration would be take some power away from Town Administrator Jeffrey Nutting.
"I'd like to see the town get the Board of Selectmen agenda out of the hands of the Town Administrator," he explained. "I want to try to bring this government back to the public.
"I thought (the shift in power) was a mistake. I still think it was a mistake."
Jordan also said he would like to see the issues surrounding Spot Pond cleared up.
"It will make Stoneham an even more desirable place to live and will increase the value of our homes and our property," he said of the expected improvements to the land.
Jordan maintained that the support he received from total strangers was overwhelming.
"What amazed me is that, throughout this campaign, I probably only knew half the people holding my signs," he said.
Jordan explained that he owed a debt of gratitude to the town employees for their support and said he hopes to meet their expectations in the future.
He said that the race was as close as he had expected.
"I knew the campaign was going to be a tough one," Jordan said. "I felt that Annamae Arsenault would draw votes away from me because we basically ran from the same base- long-time Stoneham families.
"I'm just looking forward to my next three years on the Board."
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