No Major Upsets in Tuesday's Election

The polls closed Tuesday night with veteran incumbents Selectman Mike Powers and School Committee members Eric Crane and Jean McCartin easily winning reelection to their respective seats.

None of those three, however, actually topped the ticket for the day. That honor went to Charles Desmond, a newcomer to the Library Trustees, with 748 votes. Town Moderator Patricia Frazier finished just behind Desmond with 747 votes, defeating challenger Roger Franklin who finished with 207 votes.

Town Clerk Joseph Collins said Tuesday’s turnout was between 5 and 6 percent, not exactly unexpected in a local election, but it is lower than last year’s turnout of 7 percent.

In the race for Selectman, Powers, 56, secured 72 percent of the vote over Franklin, 65, who has acknowledged he ran to give voters a choice in the election.

Powers, who arrived at shortly after 8 p.m. when the polls closed, was naturally glad to see such support for his candidacy again this year, but noted one should “never assume” anything in a political race.

“The election was about my performance [on the board],” Powers said.

He said he’s not actively seeking to retain his chairmanship of the Board of Selectmen and anticipates there will be some definite interest among his colleagues.

Selectmen Dan Bennett and William Clark have yet to chair the board. On Thursday, selectmen will convene briefly to elect a new chairman and conduct preliminary business for the year.

Crane was likewise down at Town Hall, actively checking results as they became available and keeping McCartin apprised via phone. McCartin was recovering from a bad cold.

Crane, 50 and the most senior member of the School Committee, kept ahead of the field with 33 percent of the vote on Tuesday. McCartin, 50, captured 30 percent while challenger Manuel Lopes, also 50, accounted for 21 percent. Just over 300 ballots were left blank.

“I’m gratified. We appreciate the town giving us another three years,” Crane said after the results became official. He said he did finally meet and speak with Lopes last week during a candidate forum held on .

“Frankly, we didn’t really disagree on a whole lot,” Crane said. “Anybody that runs, I give him credit for running.”

Considering that Lopes only trailed McCartin by 190 votes after running a low-profile campaign in his first bid for public office in Danvers, Crane acknowledged there probably is a segment of voters who feel it’s time for change. He has spent 10 years on the School Committee and McCartin has put in nine. Then again, they didn’t spend much time or money campaigning for this election either.

McCartin, reached at home, said she was “delighted” to keep her seat on the committee for another three years and is looking forward to continuing the job, even as tough financial prospects loom ahead.

Filling out the other town-wide races Tuesday, Wilbur Cobb and Irene Conte were reelected as Library Trustees and Ann Marie Penick was the lone person to seek a vacant seat on the Housing Authority Commission.

As far as contested races for Town Meeting members, Carla King pulled ahead of David Thomson to earn the fifth spot in Precinct 4 and William Bradstreet finished in fifth in Precinct 7, ahead of Alan Vervaeke, John Zavaglia and Christopher Falling.

Joshua Clark, son of Selectman William Clark, snagged 100 votes in that race to easily secure a seat at Town Meeting, and he also came out ahead in the race to fill a vacant unexpired term in Precinct 7.

It was unclear last night what the remedy would be in that situation.

Lastly, in Precinct 1, there is still a vacant seat since a fifth candidate did not run for the position. The seat could be filled by caucus.

Moderator — 1 for 1 year

Selectman — 1 for 3 years

Total Votes

School Committee — 2 for 3 years

Library Trustees — 3 for 3 years

Housing Authority — 1 for 2 years

Town Meeting Members