Marlborough election results: J. Christian Dumais to become city's next mayor

MARLBOROUGH — J. Christian Dumais will be the city's next mayor after defeating fellow City Councilor Samantha Perlman on Tuesday in a highly competitive city election.

Dumais received 3,593 votes, or 51% of all ballots cast, while Perlman received 3,251 votes, or 46%, according to unofficial results posted by the City Clerk's Office late Tuesday night. There were 134 write-in ballots and 54 blank ballots submitted.

Dumais will become the first new mayor in the city since Arthur Vigeant started his first of six terms in January 2012. Vigeant announced earlier this year that he would retire rather than seek a seventh mayoral term.

Dumais, who has been on the City Council since 2018, had declared his candidacy for mayor in March, before Vigeant announced that he would not seek reelection. He operates DruMais Hair Salon and Spa on Springhill Avenue.

Dumais' connections, reputation proved to be key

A 1998 graduate of Marlborough High School, Dumais drew on the support of his longtime connections in the city, and his reputation as a city councilor representing Ward 3.

"I've known (Dumais) for over 20 years now and he's just a fabulous, outstanding person and one of the hardest workers that I have ever met," said Ami Wall, a volunteer with Dumais' campaign. "He's willing to listen to everybody and he cares about his community and he wants Marlborough to be the best place it can be. He talks to people, he wants to know what their feelings are and he will go to bat for people."

'Honor of my lifetime': Mayor Vigeant will retire instead of running for seventh term

Perlman, 28, aimed to become one of the youngest mayors in the state. Throughout her campaign, she encouraged younger voters to find their voice in the community.

"I started canvassing this summer and I'm very happy being part of a grassroots campaign and being part of this democratic process," said Max Poverman, 22, a volunteer with Perlman's campaign. "I think she brings a youthful, dynamic energy and progressive values in regards to education and the environment/ Those are two of the biggest issues for me and what I care about, especially in the local area."

More: Samantha Perlman says Marlborough needs master plan, sees her youth as a strength

Perlman told the Daily News that despite coming up short, she was proud of her campaign and the work it did to engage new voters and advocate for change in the city.

"I know that my candidacy was really unique and it was different for a place like Marlborough," she said. "Even though we didn't win, I think it does show the desire for change in the city and I'm really proud of the work that we did in moving the needle for certain issues and helping new people get engaged."

Fuccillo, Vital, Preciado are new faces on City Council

Over in the City Council races, there will be several new names next year. At 21, Albert "Trey" Fuccillo will become one of the state's youngest city councilors after defeating Maureen Brennan for the Ward 6 seat. Fuccillo received 792 votes to Brennan's 380.

The Ward 6 seat was open after incumbent Sean Navin ran for one of four at-large seats. He won one of them, along with incumbents Mark Oram, Mike Ossing and Kathleen Robey. A fifth candidate, Scott King, was out of the money after receiving 3,050 votes, more than 400 behind Robey's 3,481.

Robert Preciado will be the new councilor representing Ward 3, filling Dumais' previous position. Preciado, who is of Mexican descent, will be the first Chicano city councilor in Marlborough history.

Another new councilor is Mark Vital, who will be representing Ward 1. Vital ran unopposed, with previous Ward 1 Councilor Laura Wagner electing not to seek another term.

More: J. Christian Dumais says Marlborough must make things clear for all of its residents

Elsewhere, David Doucette retained his position as Ward 2 councilor, defeating James Jumonville, 678-282.

Incumbent Teona Brown retained her spot as Ward 4 councilor, defeating challenger Thomas Dalton, 653-163.

And in the closest race for City Council, incumbent Ward 7 Councilor Donald Landers narrowly held off challenger Harmony Larson, 492-445.

Incumbent Ward 5 City Councilor John Irish retained his spot, running unopposed.

For School Committee, all three incumbent candidates who were up for reelection ran unopposed. Katherine Hennessy led the way with 4,336 votes, followed by Daniel Caruso (4,214) and Heidi Adler Matthews (3,772).

The same story took place in the election Assabet Valley's School Committee, which saw Marlborough's representative, Peggy Ayres, run unopposed for re-election. She received 5,082 votes, making her the highest vote-getter on the city ballot.

Turnout was 27.8% with 7,032 of Marlborough's 25,266 registered voters casting ballots. That figure was up considerably from the 2021 city election, which saw 4,610, or 19% of the city's registered voters casting a ballot.

Dumais and all other elected officials will officially start on Jan. 1.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Marlborough election results: Voters pick Dumais to be new mayor