Greene, Penner Win Mount Greylock School Committee Race
 Voting was steady at Williamstown Elementary School on Tuesday. |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Voters in Williamstown and Lanesborough voted Tuesday to return Mount Greylock Regional School Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Greene to her seat on the committee.
Greene was one of three candidates vying for two of the Williamstown seats on the panel, which is elected by voters in both member towns of the junior-senior high school district.
Wendy Penner will join Greene on the committee after defeating Steven Miller in the race.
Greene was the top vote-getter in both towns, receiving 503 votes in Lanesborough and 1,752 in Williamstown for a total of 2,255.
Penner recevied 1,417 votes, and Miller received 1,238, a margin of 179.
Penner received a majority of votes from Williamstown voters (1,127-902). Miller was the pick among Lanesborough voters by a slim, 336-290 majority.
Greene said Tuesday evening that she was encouraged that voters in both member towns voted for continuity on the committee.
"It was a nice vote of confidence, certainly from Williamstown and Lanesborough, that people feel the committee is going in the right direction," she said.
Tuesday’s election also featured three uncontested races — two for Lanesborough seats and one for a Williamstown seat to which Gary Fuls was appointed this summer to serve for a committee member who moved out of state.
Fuls was elected in his own right to serve the remaining two years of that four-year seat. He received 1,802 votes in Williamstown and 632 votes in Lanesborough.
Incumbent Lanesborough resident Chris Dodig was returned with 2,166 votes — 596 in his hometown and 1,570 in Williamstown.
Richard Cohen joins the Mount Greylock School Committee after winning 1,949 votes — 581 in Lanesborough and 1,368 in Williamstown.
Greene said each of the newcomers elected to the seven-member committee brings valuable experience.
"Rich is not new to school committees in general," she said, referring to his time on the Lanesborough Elementary School Committee. "Wendy has never served on a school committee, but she does a lot of community outreach. And she’s very familiar with — the issues related to the building. She’ll have a broad view, which is what we need."
