Enos and Baptiste take Prudential Committee seats, Hatch returns to Board of Water Commissioners
Ron Enos and Kenneth Baptiste took the two seats Prudential Committee, while incumbent Theodore Hatch was re-elected to the Board of Water Commissioners during the Wareham Fire District's annual election held on April 14.
Enos, an incumbent with one term under his belt, was re-elected with 357 votes.
"I'm happy I won. It was a lot of work," said Enos after the results came in, adding that he wants to "continue to look at the long-term, strategic goals of the organization."
Baptiste won the second seat with 254 votes, narrowly beating Elizabeth Pezzolli who garnered 232 votes. Pezzolli was a previous incumbent who had served on the Committee for nine years.
Baptiste, who had served on the Prudential Committee from 2005-2011 and expressed throughout the election that he wanted to return to the Committee, waited with Enos at the Fire District's Cranberry Highway headquarters for the results to come in.
"I'm glad to be back," Baptiste said. "I want to finish what I started and I want to keep us in a forward motion. We have a lot of work to do. Roll our sleeves up and let's go."
Cara Pillsbury, the fourth and final contestant for the Prudential Committee, obtained 71 votes. Pillsbury announced her candidacy late and ran as a write-in candidate.
Theodore Hatch, an incumbent who has served on the Board of Water Commissioners for 15 years, was re-elected to his position with 345 votes.
Hatch thanked his supporters via e-mail. "I write ... with many thanks for your continued support that you showed today at the polls," he wrote. "I will remain vigilant in doing the best job I can for you as Water Commissioner for the Wareham Fire District."
Candidate Frank DeFelice came in second place with 143 votes, while Lynne Burroughs came in third at 57 votes.
A total of 589 voters turned out to cast their ballots for the election. There are a total of 12,197 registered voters in the District, according to Marybeth Fernandes, clerk/treasurer of the District. That gives a voter turnout of just under 5%.
The Prudential Committee and Board of Water Commissioners seats are all three-year terms.
The Wareham Fire District holds its annual meeting yearly on the second Monday of April. The District's elections are held yearly on the Saturday following the District Meeting.
Next year, there will be 2 Prudential Committee seats up for grabs and 1 seat open for the Board of Water Commissioners. The position for Clerk and the position for Treasurer, which are two separate positions, will also be up for grabs.
The Prudential Committee, a five-member board, oversees the finances of the Fire District. The Board of Water Commissioners, a three-member board, oversees the operating budget of the Water Department and works to ensure water quality and safety.