Local voters back Republican gubernatorial candidates over Dems by a 55-44 percent margin of victory
Published on November 6th, 2002
STONEHAM, MA - The voices of Stoneham have spoken in the gubernatorial general election for the state of Massachuestts, and they seemed to go right along with many other suburban towns in the North Shore by carrying Republican ticket Mitt Romney and Kerry Healey to victory.
A total of 9,113 people punched their voting ballots this year at the Stoneham Town Hall, and Romney and Healey garnered almost 55 percent (4,951) of the vote from Stonehamites. Romney carried every precinct in Stoneham with a high margin of 256 votes in precinct four and a low of 76 votes in precinct one.
“We took on an entrenched machine and we won,” said Romney in a victory celebration at the Park Plaza hotel on Tuesday night. “Tonight we sent a clear and loud message that it’s time for a new era. The message is that people come first, and not politicians.”
The Belmont businessman will take office in January, and won by a decisive 54-44 margin at the state level. Romney’s victory marks the fourth straight victory in the governor’s race for the Republican party in Massachusetts.
Democratic hopeful Shannon O’Brien congratulate Romney on a “hard fought campaign” and offered her help in righting the sinking Massachusetts fiscal ship.
“Tough economic times mean a tough job for the next administration and most people understand there will be no easy answers and no quick fixes,” said O’Brien. “But we must do everything that we can to protect Massachusetts families.”
Green party candidates of Stein and Lorenzen received three percent of the Stoneham vote.
In other races voted on in Stoneham, Timothy Cahill beat republican Daniel Grabauskas for the state treasurer position vacated by O’Brien at the state level, and also at the local level. Cahill received 49 percent of the vote in Stoneham, and Grabauskas garnered 44 percent of the vote.
US Senator John Kerry defeated independent party candidate Michael Cloud by a total of 81-18 percent margin. Secretary of State William Galvin retained his office over challenger Jack E. Robinson III by a 76-23 margin, A. Joseph DeNucci (81 percent) retained the role of state auditor by defeating Kamal Jain (6 percent) and John James Xenakis (13 percent), and John Buonomo defeated John Lambert for the Register of Probate seat by a 67-32 percent margin.
Attorney General Thomas Reilly, US Rep. Ed Markey, councillor Michael Callahan, Sen.. Richard Tisei, Rep. Carol Donovan, Rep. Paul Casey, and Middlesex District Attorney Martha Coakley all ran unopposed and retained their respective elected positions.
Stoneham voters were nearly deadlocked on Question One which would have abolished income tax at the state level as sponsored by the Libertarian party.
49.53 (4,167) percent of Stoneham voters were in favor of blowing up the state income tax system while a narrow 50.47 (4,246) percent of the voters were interested in retaining the state income tax.
Question two concerning a change in bilingual education was supported by a wide 75-24 percent margin in the voting. The approval of question two would make English immersion a higher priority than it currently holds in the Massachusetts education system.
Question three, pertaining to tax dollars being funneled to election campaigns, was also defeated at the Stoneham level by an 80-19 percent margin.
Town Clerk John Hanright was pleasantly surprised at the turnout, and was going to rummage through the records to gain a better sense of yesterday’s results.
“That was one of the highest turnouts for a non-Presidential election that I think we’ve ever had,” said Hanright of the 63 percent of Stoneham voters who flocked to the polls. “I think the negative ads actually made people how important it is to get out there, and have your voice heard.”
Hanright also mentioned that the Republican State Committee had also commissioned some 500,000 absentee votes at the state level which certainly helped Romney’s cause.
“They did a good job of getting people to the ballots that might have otherwise missed the election,” said Hanright.
Hanright also wanted to thank the 65 election workers at the polls, and the Ground Round restaurant in Stoneham. Ground Round supplied the election workers with free catered lunch and supper as they worked polls all day long.
“I really wanted to thank the election workers for making this busy election go as smoothly and efficiently as possible,” said Hanright. “We certainly couldn’t have done any of it without their great efforts.
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