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Two replacements for At-Large City Councilor
Westfield School Committee member Cindy Sullivan (left) who won re-election celebrated with Tim O’Connor and Heather Sullivan on the victory of all three to the School Committee. (Photo submitted)
Two former members return to School Committee By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – The School Committee will have two former members return for four-year terms with the victories of Timothy O’Connor and Heather Sullivan on Tuesday. Incumbent Cindy Sullivan will also remain on the School Committee. Jeffrey Gosselin, who served for the past four years, lost his seat in the highly contested race. The unofficial vote tally was as follows: Timothy O’Connor received 3,517 votes (28%); Heather Sullivan 3,304 (26%); Cindy
Sullivan 3,009 (24%), and Jeffrey Gosselin 2,738 (22%). Voters were asked to choose not more than three candidates for the three seats, but could vote for only one or two. 6,731 spaces were left blank on the ballots, with a total of 24 write-ins. “I’m elated. It’s been a very challenging election season, especially for incumbents. I look forward to working with Tim and Heather, because they’re going to be great assets to the committee,” said Cindy
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—Two new At-Large City Councilors will be sitting in City Council Chambers starting in January following yesterday’s election, according to unofficial city election results. Previous At-Large City Councilor Nick Morganelli and newcomer Matt Emmershy were two of the seven candidates elected out of 12 to At-Large City Council seats yesterday, taking seats previously occupied by At-Large City Councilors Matthew VanHeynigen and Stephen Dondley. In addition, At-Large City Councilors Dan Allie, Brent Bean, II, John Beltrandi, III, David Flaherty and Cindy Harris all won their reelection bids. “I’m excited to get to work, it’s a step in the right direction. The voters responded to their displeasure in the status quo,” Emmershy, the fourthhighest vote-getter, said yesterday. Emmershy’s bid this year was his first such for any city council seat in the city. “The voters are sending a message here,” he said.
City Council elect Matt Emmershy.
City Council elect Nick Morganelli.
A total of 6,441 voters showed at the polls yesterday, resulting in a 25.13 percent voter turnout. Some candidates said that the turnout was good, especially considering that there was an unopposed mayoral race. “I’m surprised at the turnout. Above 25 percent without a mayor’s race is pretty good,” Bean said. “I think the three ward races brought people to the polls.” “I’m thankful for the turnout, which was great with no mayor race,” Allie the second-leading vote-getter, said. Allie also said that he was
excited to have the two newly elected councilors on the council. “Couldn’t be more excited about Nick Morganelli and Matt Emmershy on the council,” he said. For Morganelli, who was the highest vote-getter out of the candidates at 3,527 votes, he is coming back to City Council where he served two times prior. “I feel humbled, I feel blessed, I’m very grateful to the people in ’07 and ‘09 and who voted for me this time
Incumbent takes Ward 3
See School Committee, Page 8
By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – Ward 3 returned incumbent Andrew K. Surprise to the City Council for another two years. Surprise won over first-time candidate Rob Atkocaitis, with an official total of 506
Ward 5 incumbent ‘humbled’ by re-election to a third term By AMY PORTER Correspondent WESTFIELD – Ward 5 was another race that saw a newcomer challenge an incumbent. Firsttime candidate Leslie “Les” Daniel LeFebvre fell short of ousting Ward 5 incumbent Councilor Robert A. Paul, Sr., who won with one of the larger margins of the evening of 872 votes (61%) to LeFebvre’s 548 votes (39%) in the unofficial results. Breaking it down further, Ward 5 A voted 379 for Paul, and 310 for LeFebvre. Ward 5 B cast 492 votes for Paul, and 238 for LeFebvre. There were also 142 blank ballots; 57 in Ward 5A and 86 in Ward 5B, and a total of 5 write-ins, 1 in Ward 5A and 4 in Ward 5B.
Ward 4 City Councilor elect Michael Burns
By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—After two never-before city councilors faced off for the Ward Four City Council seat, Water Commissioner Michael Burns has won, according to unofficial city election results. Burns beat out first-time candidate Dawn Thomas for the Ward Four City Council seat
See Ward 5, Page 8
WSU Terrorism Expert Ward 5 Councilor Robert A. Paul, Sr.
BOB McKEAN
Larry Santos Executive Director Stanley Park
Mark Boardman & Jennifer Gruzska from St. Mary’s Schools Westfield Rotary Club
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RADIO FOR THE WESTFIELD MASSES
This Thursday... Thursday... This 6am-8am: 6am-8am:
See Ward 3, Page 8
Four times the charm in Ward 4
Prof. George Michael
The Westfield News Radio Show Thursday Line-Up 6am-8am
See At-Large, Page 8
See Ward 4, Page 8
Ward 3 City Councilor Andrew Surprise gets a kiss from his fiance, Amy Brown, after securing his re-election bid on Tuesday. (Photo by Lynn Boscher)
The no’s and unopposed have it By DAN DESROCHERS Correspondent WESTFIELD—In addition to the several contested races in the city, unopposed candidates and a non-binding question were on the ballot upon which voters were to decide. Westfield Mayor Brian Sullivan, Ward One City Councilor Mary Ann Babinski, Ward Two City Councilor Ralph Figy and Ward Six City Councilor Bill Onyski all maintained their seats following the election Tuesday, as all ran unopposed. In addition, the non-binding question for extending the mayor’s term from two years to four years was opposed by a two-toone margin. A total of 6,441 ballots were cast, equaling a 25.13 percent voter turnout.
A breakdown of the votes are as follows, according to unofficial results: For the ballot question, “Shall the city of Westfield extend the term for mayor from 2 years to 4 years,” from a total of 6,441 ballots: -“No” received 3,843 total votes -“Yes” received 1,911 total votes -687 ballots were left blank For Mayor, from 6,441 total ballots: -Sullivan received 4,472 total votes -1,681 ballots were left blank -288 write-ins See No’s, Unopposed, Page 8