Rotondi, Sweeney in during tight election
Published on April 5th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - Once again, the winds of change were blowing strong during a rainy and blustery election day in Stoneham — but they could have been blowing even stronger for incumbent Board of Selectman Chairman Bob Sweeney, who managed to squeak by and beat challenger Dan Doherty by a total of 14 votes during Tuesday’s election.
Stoneham voters turned out to the underwhelming tune of 3357 of the 13,000 plus registered voters in Stoneham (a total of 24.3 percent of the registered voters) during an oft-time miserable April day. It was a far cry from the 6,000 plus voters that come out to have their voices heard in the override election last year, a sign that voters were a bit more tepid on the impact of a pair of non-binding questions (one on the trash fee and another an unspecified amount for an override) on the 2006 ballot.
“I was surprised a bit by the low turnout given the amount of candidates for Selectmen, the budget situation and the questions on the ballot…but it was really just a lousy day,” said Town Clerk John Hanright, who once again provided the annual supply of Cain’s Bakery doughnuts and pasties for the poll-workers.
Sweeney, running for his third term as a member of the Selectmen, won by the slimmest of margins with a total of 1248 votes against Doherty, who had town officials scurrying for pencils and calculators to tally the votes as Hanright was reading them.
Sweeney phoned Hanright with a host of questions about the results and the possibility of a recount, and seemed generally dumbfounded by the results. Add in several ballots that were tossed out because voters chose more than two Selectmen on their ballots, and the Town of Stoneham had themselves a very close vote indeed.
“I’m at a loss for words right now…I really don’t know what to say,” said Sweeney after standing in the cold holding signs with a host of supporters during the morning and afternoon.
Sweeney was a bit thoughtful earlier in the day, having made peace with either a win or a loss on a day where he seemed to have no real gauge as to how the vote was going to go.
“If I win or if I lose, the sun will come out tomorrow…I’m okay with it either way,” said Sweeney. “I know the incumbents can be held to blame when things aren’t going well in town, so we’ll see if that’s the case today. It’s been a pleasure learning from Cosmo [Ciccarello] and I’d like to continue the work on the board.”
Doherty, who was still trying to contact Hanright as of press time but fully intended on going ahead with a vote recount, still hadn’t given up on this election given the closeness of the vote totals, but was disappointed at the overall voter turnout.
“I don’t know how much you can blame the weather because I just think it was bad in the morning…I think the overall message in Stoneham is the apathy of the voters given that 75 percent of them stayed home. When you’re involved in the town government, it’s hard to fathom that many people deciding to stay home and not vote,” said Doherty. “I’m grateful to my supporters and to everyone who voted for me, but I’m a little disappointed at the town in general. The vote on the questions sends a clear message that voters want us to find ways to cut budgets or find alternative funding, and it’s our job to do that.”
Somewhat surprisingly, longtime Stoneham resident, and brother to both Historical Commission member Steve Rotondi and Stoneham Police Officer Larry Rotondi, R. Paul Rotondi topped the Selectmen ticket with 1421 votes — a clear call for change and a familiar face with the retirement of Ciccarello from the board.
“Frankly, I was a little concerned with such a low turnout but I’m very pleased to have been elected to the board,” said Rotondi. “The fun part of the job is over now, and I’m ready to get in there and get to work. I think we have a long road ahead of us, and I’m excited to get started.”
Former Selectman Charlie Smith finished a distant fourth in the election with 754 votes and failed to carry any of the precincts after taking a year off from office. Smith felt that the candidate tandem of Newcomb Road residents Heidi Kelf and Andrew Celentano siphoned some of the reform votes away from him, but respected that the voice of the people had spoken.
“I just didn’t have the votes and that’s life sometimes…I don’t think I’ll be running for office again, but I’m sure you’ll still hear my voice at town meetings,” said Smith.
Celentano (682 votes) and Kelf (626 votes) rounded out the voting in their first time attempting to run for any board in town, and the pair actually did quite well in their home court of precinct six — with Celentano topping the precinct with 187 votes.
“It’s kind of a difficult road when you shoot for the moon your first time out and run for a Selectman seat, but it was a great experience,” said Kelf. “I met a lot of great people, had a wonderful experience and would definitely consider doing something like this again in the future.”
Another newcomer, Miriam Regan-Fiore, topped the ticket for the School Committee with a whopping 1721 votes – the most votes for any Selectmen or School Committee candidate – a strong endorsement for the professional way that Regan-Fiore has handled her activism against the BRMC development and the skill with which she ran her campaign. Incumbent Marie Christie won the second seat with a total of 1668 votes — defeating both challengers Carol Feke (1008 votes) and Matt Whooley (947 votes) in the process.
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