Election results are in

Apr 2, 2019

Wareham voters favored new faces in Tuesday’s Town Election and elected newcomers to the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee.

Jim Munise, a newcomer to the board, received the most votes of any Selectman-hopeful, with 891. Incumbent Patrick Tropeano, who won the other seat, had 684 votes. Incumbent Anthony Scarsciotti lost his seat after receiving 616 — only 68 votes fewer than Tropeano.

In his campaign, Munise emphasized transparency around meetings and committee appointments and the need for a new perspective on the board. Tropeano, who has been a presence in Wareham since the mid-eighties, said his priorities were finding new revenues for the town, minimizing losses through school choice, and increasing senior housing.

Apryl Rossi won the three candidate race for School Committee against Jennifer Bailey and Geoff Swett. Rossi had 502 votes to Swett’s 401 and Bailey’s 353.

The race resulted from a mix-up when Swett pulled papers at the Town Clerk’s office. Swett, who was appointed to fill Rebekah Pratt’s seat in December, intended to run against incumbent Mary Morgan for her three year seat, but ended up running against Rossi and Bailey for the remaining two years of Pratt’s term.

In her winning campaign, Rossi said her priority is to encourage more parent involvement and feedback to try and stop families from taking their students out of the district through school choice.

Mary Morgan ran unopposed for her seat and won 977 votes. Morgan said that she wants to focus on “middle of the road” students and bring more vocational education opportunities to Wareham High School.

The Town Clerk race was won by Michele Bissonnette with 946 votes. Write-in candidate Jenna Deane received 179 votes. Bissonnette served as the assistant town clerk in Marion for 12 years.

David Heard, who ran as a write-in candidate for Assessor after no one pulled papers, was elected with 255 votes. Heard is currently a member of the Finance Committee, Capital Planning Committee, and the School Building Committee. Nancy Miller, another write-in candidate, received nine votes.

Claire Smith, who ran unopposed for Town Moderator, won re-election with 1135 votes.

Jean Connaughton won re-election to the Housing Authority with 721 votes to challenger Jody Santagate’s 447. Connaughton focused her campaign on fiscal oversight, providing appropriate housing, the day to day management of the authority, and addressing the town’s lack of affordable senior housing.

Peter G. Dunlop was unopposed for Sewer Commissioner and won 1033 votes.

A total of 1,338 people voted in the election, which was a nine percent turnout. Silva said that is a fairly good turnout for a town election.

Results were set to be certified by Town Clerk Mary Ann Silva on April 3 after Wareham Week’s print deadline.