Francesconi Narrowly Keeps Selectman's Seat in Cheshire
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Incumbent Carol Francesconi narrowly defeated opponent E. Richard Scholz for an open seat on the Board of Selectmen.
The longtime incumbent and current chairwoman fended off Scholz by a slight margin of 25 votes.
Francesconi said she was grateful for all those who came out to vote for her.
"I am very thankful for the people who voted for me and believed in me," she said after votes were compiled.
She won a total of 304 votes during Monday's election to win her 10th term on the board, compared to Scholz's 279.
But Scholz, who serves on the Advisory Board, appears to be inching closer to victory. He ran against Selectman Paul Astorino in 2014, losing by 47 votes.
Scholz said he was impressed by how close the results were and may run again in the future.
"I think it was super close, and if a few more people voted we maybe could have won," he said. "I think it's amazing that I did so well against a long-term candidate."
Cheshire saw a fairly high voter turnout Monday and when polls closed at 7 p.m., 595 voters cast ballots. Some 26 percent of Cheshire's 2,303 registered voters made it to the polls at the Community Center.
Town Clerk Christine Emerson said almost 400 votes were cast by 3:45.
"It has been pretty steady," she said. "In fact, we had people waiting in line before it opened."
Scholz may not have a prevailed in his campaign but his petition to increase the size of the Board of Selectmen won big. Voters approved the idea of expanding the board from three to five members by 308-251. This ballot question was non-binding.
All other races were filled by unchallenged incumbents except for Peter Tatro, who ran unopposed and will join the Adams-Cheshire Regional School Committee as a Cheshire representative.
Newcomers Ronald Deangelis and Shannon Plumb also won seats on the Planning Board unopposed.
The only other battle the town saw was for town constable. Ralph Biagini was re-elected with 340 votes and Allison Warner with 324 votes. Newcomer Christopher "CJ" Garner edged out incumbent Jason Hoellerich by 351-295. Andrew Kachel also ran, but only received 219 votes.
Tags: election 2016, election results, town elections,
