Winchendon seeks letters of interest for Board of Health after a failure to elect
WINCHENDON ― The annual town election on Monday, May 1 resulted in a tie between write-in candidates Keith Kent and Edward Bond for a seat in the Board of Health.
Each candidate got 13 votes and because a winner could not be declared, it is considered a failure to elect. As a result, the Board of Health and Board of Selectmen are collecting letters of interest from anyone seeking the seat. Once the letters have been received, the board will hold a roll call vote to appoint someone to fill the open seat until next year's annual town election.
Bond was an incumbent who had been on the board for the past three years, but he never submitted his nomination papers, so his name was not printed on the ballot, Town Clerk, Wendy Stevens said.
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Incumbent Tina Santos was re-elected to her seat on the Board of Health with 318 votes.
Selectmen's and School Committee races
Several incumbents decided to not seek re-election on Monday May 1.
Selectwoman Amy Salter did not run for re-election. Three candidates, Melissa Blanchard, Edward W. Ford Jr. and Sharon LaRochelle, all sought the open seat. Blanchard won with 246 votes, to LaRochelle's 92 and Ford's 42.
On the School Committee, there were three candidates for two seats on the ballot, including incumbent Karen Kast-McBride, Michael Barbaro and David A. LaPointe. LaPointe was the top vote getter with 230 votes, followed by Kast-McBride with 175 votes. Barbaro received 159 votes. Incumbent Lawrence Murphy did not seek re-election for a seat in the school committee.
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No other seats were contested, and no ballot questions were presented to voters.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Winchendon election results - Select Board, School Committee, BOH
