Alan Slavin overwhelmingly defeated former-Selectman Bruce Sauvageau and Board of Assessors member David Smith in the race for a three-year seat on the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday.

An active volunteer on several town committees, Slavin received 1,474 votes in the annual town election, while Sauvageau got 823 and Smith received 269.

“I’m going to finish up my committee duties because I feel I have responsibility to the town," Slavin said after the results were in. "There are a lot of things we need to do. The town has serious issues. We’re not going to be able to fix them right away. We’re going to have to sit back and look at everything, take a deep breath, and figure out what we can do and what we can’t do."

The open seat was vacated by Walter Cruz, who did not seek re-election.

The mild-mannered Slavin, who admitted he is "usually even-keeled," was nearly speechless following the election. He humbly thanked his supporters, saying: I’m just taking it all in. ... I worked hard. ... I owe a lot to all the people who made this happen.”

Of the town's approximately 14,700 registered voters, 2,656 cast ballots -- approximately 18%. The turn-out was slightly higher than last year's town election, when 15% of voters cast ballots.

Tuesday ended a months-long election season during which the ballot seemed to change by the week.

Selectman Michael Schneider resigned from his post in early February. If he had resigned by January 30, the position could have been simply added to the April 3 ballot. Because of state regulations that mandate strict deadlines for elections, the town was faced with either holding a costly special election or seeking special state legislation to allow the town to add the seat to the ballot.

The Board of Selectmen voted to seek legislation. Nomination papers were made available for the position and it was indeed added to the printed ballot, but the legislation has not yet officially been passed by the legislature.

Officials from State Representative Susan Williams Gifford's (R-Wareham) office said the Governor's office, which is charged with filing such a bill, traditionally waits until after the election takes place to do so. Town officials echoed that at Tuesday's Board of Selectmen meeting, which adjourned just before 10 p.m. on election night.

Four candidates' names appeared on the ballot for Schneider's vacated seat. Candidate Mary Jane Driscoll backed Johar and dropped out of the race in March, but it was too late for her name to be removed from the ballot. Patrick Tropeano was also running, though he announced that he would stop campaigning after he fell ill at the Onset Protective League's Candidates Night and thus was unable to participate.

That left newcomer Amit Johar, who was forced to defend his residency in Wareham after rumors that he actually lived in Plymouth circulated, and lifelong resident Peter Teitelbaum.

Teitelbaum won all but one precinct, garnering 1,248 votes to Johar's 1,021.

"Looking forward, I intend to honor my campaign promise to represent all of Wareham -- and not just those who supported me in the election," said Teitelbaum, who congratulated Johar for running a "strong campaign." He added: "I look forward ... to working with the School Committee, FinCom, and other stakeholders to resolve our town budget, and I want to remind the citizens of Wareham that I want to hear their ideas to improve our town.”

Johar, whose family owns two package stores in Wareham, wished Teitelbaum well and said he plans to stay involved in the town.

"I'll continue to work with the town. ... I'll certainly continue to help in any town business," he said, and thanked his supporters. "Nobody knew me a month back, now at least 1,000 more people know me."

Three-year Selectmen candidate Smith said he was discouraged by voter turn-out.

"I feel, myself included, that the Selectmen and the candidates for Selectmen are not reaching the voters of Wareham, and that's why they are not even bothering to vote," he said. "We need to make an effort to reach out to the voters.

Smith will continue to serve the town on the Board of Assessors.

Sauvageau, who suffered from health issues in the weeks leading up to the election, could not be reached for comment.

Newcomer Michael Flaherty took the first of two School Committee seats with 1,458 votes, while incumbent Geoff Swett took the second with 1,385 votes. Lynne Burroughs, who had twice before run unsuccessfully for a School Committee seat, garnered 1,086.

Flaherty said he was "elated" after learning he'd won.

“The status quo is not an option for me," he said, adding: "I really think that there needs to be a bridge … a way to get the complex information that the School Committee deals with, and summarize that information so that parents understand. ... If some of the parents saw some of the stuff that I’ve seen … they’d get more involved.”

Incumbent Swett said he appreciated the voters' support.

"Even if [voters] didn’t agree with me on every position that I took, they respected that I cared about the children of Wareham," he said, but cautioned: “There’s no time to celebrate. The School Committee meets [Wednesday] night. We are immediately concerned with the budget issues. ... Very difficult decisions need to be made.”

Lynne Burroughs could not be reached for comment.

Elsewhere on the ballot, incumbent Steve Curry and former-Assessor John Donahue won three-year seats on the Board of Assessors. Former-Selectman and current Onset Water Commissioner Brenda Eckstrom, who ran unopposed, won a one-year term for that board.

Curry, the top vote-getter in the Assessors race with 1,530, said the nod from voters was a testament to his work.

“If I wasn’t doing a good job, or I wasn’t doing fair valuations, [voters] would be the first ones to hang me and I wouldn’t be here," he said. “If you’re doing a good job … they’ll keep you there. ... Our job is just to make sure all properties are fairly assessed for taxation purposes.”

Donahue, who spent 17 years on the Board of Assessors in Wareham and currently serves as Principal Assessor in West Bridgewater, thanked voters for their support.

“I want to bring professionalism and stability back to the board," he said, "and I want to be a watchdog for the citizens of Wareham.”

Donahue defeated candidate Robert Bunstein with 1,191 votes to Bunstein's 987. Bunstein could not be reached for comment.

The ballot also featured a contested race for a five-year term on the Housing Authority. Incumbent Martin Benoit defeated challenger Robert Powilatis, 1,373 to 658.

Deputy Moderator Joseph Ashley, who was elected for a one-year term last year, ran uncontested for the three-year deputy moderator position Tuesday. Ashley was the top vote-getter in the entire election -- garnering 1,931 votes.

"I feel good to be back, serving the people," said Ashley. "I've enjoyed being Deputy Moderator because it keeps me involved with the people and allows me to help them."

The voters also resoundingly approved an amendment to the Town Charter concerning the hiring process for the Director of Assessment. It requires that the job be posted no later than 30 days after the position is vacated and that a three-person hiring committee, which includes one member of the Board of Assessors, be formed.

We will update this story with more reactions from candidates as we get them!

Election results by precinct:

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