(Editor’s note: This article previously stated that there were no contested races, but it has been corrected to not that there include the previously overlooked contest for the Parks and Recreation Commission race.)
In a town election where there was only one contested race, David Cuetos — who did not appear anywhere on the actual ballot — managed to garner votes for three different positions and was in fact elected as a Bemis trustee.
No one filed to run for the Trustees of Bemis opening in the March 30 election, but Cuetos won as a write-in candidate with three votes. Eight other residents — Chris Bursaw, Montana Bray, Christopher Burns, Donald Collins, Ephraim Flint, Patrick Lawler, Sue Parker, and Dilla Tingley — won two votes apiece, and many other residents received single votes, according to Town Clerk Valerie Fox.
“This was a complete surprise to me. I learned about it this afternoon when I received an email from the town clerk,” Cuetos told the Lincoln Squirrel on Tuesday evening. “Apparently I was written in by some voters to many different offices across the ballot.”
Asked if he planned to serve in the Bemis role, he said, “I don’t know yet what I’d do. My goal is to join the Finance Committee and by our bylaws, that post requires exclusivity. I have expressed my continued interest in that position to the chair of FinCom and the new town moderator. If the moderator doesn’t appoint me, I think I’d honor the support of those voters who deposited their confidence in me.”
If Cuetos declines the Bemis position, a candidate will be appointed by the current Bemis trustees and the Select Board. That person will hold the seat until the next election, when two seats will be up for election (one person for the remaining two years of this seat and another for the normally expiring three-year term).
FinCom has two three-year terms currently expiring. New members must be appointed by the moderator within 30 days of Town Meeting. “I don’t know whether Merrill Berkery or Rich Rosenbaum have expressed interest in another term, but in my view incumbency alone should not guarantee reappointment,” Cuetos said.
In the only contested race, newcomer Hilary Dionne beat out David Onigman for a seat on the Parks and Recreation Commission by a vote of 365–246. Onigman had been serving as an appointed member to fill a vacancy.
Andrew Payne, the sole candidate on the ballot for Town Moderator, garnered 612 votes, but Cuetos also got 51 write-in votes (40 in Precinct 1 and 11 in Precinct 2). Three other residents (Susan Mygatt, Richard Ohlsten, and Peter Sugar) each got a single write-in vote.
Margaret Olson regained the seat on the Planning Board that she lost in last year’s election. She will succeed Craig Nicholson, who did not run for reelection. Four voters wrote in Cuetos for that race as well, and Sarah Postlethwait got five votes.
| Offices & Candidates | Prec. 1 | Prec. 2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| SELECT BOARD | |||
| Kimberly A. Bodnar | 429 | 216 | 645 |
| Write-in/blank | 71 | 25 | 96 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| BOARD OF ASSESSORS | |||
| Ellen Bassett Meadors | 426 | 219 | 645 |
| Write-in/blank | 75 | 22 | 96 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| BOARD OF HEALTH | |||
| Frederick Lawton Mansfield | 423 | 216 | 639 |
| Write-in/blank | 77 | 25 | 102 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| CEMETERY COMMISSIONER | |||
| Manley B. Boyce | 432 | 212 | 644 |
| Write-in/blank | 68 | 29 | 97 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| COMMISSIONER OF TRUST FUNDS | |||
| Derek Paul Fitzgerald | 413 | 208 | 621 |
| Write-in/blank | 87 | 33 | 120 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| LS REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT COMMITTEE (2 seats) | |||
| Ravi Simon | 365 | 178 | 543 |
| Jason David Mclure | 382 | 200 | 582 |
| Write-in/blank | 253 | 104 | 357 |
| Total | 1000 | 482 | 1482 |
| MODERATOR | |||
| Andrew Clinton Payne | 407 | 205 | 612 |
| Write-in/blank | 93 | 36 | 129 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE | |||
| Hilary Dionne | 242 | 123 | 365 |
| David Henry Onigman | 168 | 78 | 246 |
| Write-in/blank | 90 | 40 | 130 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| PLANNING BOARD (2 seats) | |||
| Lynn E. Delisi | 380 | 186 | 566 |
| Setha Margaret Olson | 363 | 182 | 545 |
| Write-In/Blank | 13 | 2 | 15 |
| Blank | 244 | 112 | 356 |
| Total | 1000 | 482 | 1482 |
| SCHOOL COMMITTEE (2 seats for 3 years) | |||
| Matina Madrick | 385 | 189 | 574 |
| Thomas Nickerson | 363 | 174 | 537 |
| Write-in/blank | 253 | 119 | 372 |
| Total | 1000 | 482 | 1482 |
| SCHOOL COMMITTEE (1 year) | |||
| Jessica Burke Callow | 408 | 203 | 611 |
| Blank | 92 | 38 | 130 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| TRUSTEES OF BEMIS FUND | |||
| Write-in | 78 | 33 | 111 |
| Blank | 422 | 208 | 630 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
| WATER COMMISSIONER | |||
| Matthew Michael Bio | 420 | 208 | 628 |
| Write-in/blank | 80 | 33 | 113 |
| Total | 500 | 241 | 741 |
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