Ericson, Flood Victors In Lanesborough Election
Typically the hillside next to Town Hall is filled with candidates and campaign signs during an election. But, this year, only Robert Ericson could be found there Tuesday afternoon and few voters made it to the polls.
Ericson received 119 votes in Tuesday's election which saw a dismal turnout of less than 10 percent making it to the polls. But, he had just enough to defeat Michelle Johnson for the seat as she reeled in 94 votes.
Ericson was first elected in 2013 after defeating former Selectman Joseph Szczpaniak Jr. The seat was previously held by William Prendergast. The re-election puts him back on the board for a three-year term.
In a recent interview Ericson said his focus was going to be on finishing the projects he had begun, specifically with energy efficiency projects in town buildings. The 74-year-old former engineer heads the town's Energy Committee and had crafted plans for Town Hall, the Police Station, and Lanesborough Elementary School to lower energy costs. Further, he sits on the Mount Greylock School Building Committee where he has an opportunity to weigh in on the design on the new middle and high school. He also said the town needs an ombudsman of sorts to help businesses grow or move to town by assisting them through the various permitted hoops.
Johnson had been very active in town over recent years, mostly involved in school-related activities and the school council. She's more recently become a somewhat regular at the Board of Selectmen and School Committee, voicing her concerns with a number of actions the board has taken. She threw her hat into the ring because she wanted to change things. She hoped to focus more on building on the town's strengths in the school system and promoting more business to grow the tax base. Further, she felt the town's leadership lacked a master plan for the future.
Ericson's win brings him back to the board but he had said this may be his last term.
Meanwhile, Rebecca Flood ousted Finance Committee Chairman Alfred Terranova by a large margin. There were two seats up for the committee with Flood reeling in 147 votes. Ronald Tinkham, a long-time volunteer and staple in the town's government, reeled in the second highest vote total with 108. And Terranova fell just short of 100 with 97 votes.
Flood is a financial analyst at General Dynamics with a history of banking experience. After following town issues for the last five years, she felt it was time to lend her experience to the town's operation through the Finance Committee. She said she hopes to sort through the town's spending and figure out where items can be cut and where to find efficiencies. She believes the town has a combination of high taxes but little access to services such as trash pick. Flood hopes with better financial planning that can change.
A number of unopposed seats were also elected on Tuesday. Robert Reilly received 163 votes to be re-elected moderator and he received 164 votes to be re-elected to the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District.
Danielle Taylor received 159 votes to take over for the seat being vacated by Sheila Hebert — Hebert had stepped into the seat last year when no other candidates ran for election. Rachael Eramo reeled in 173 votes and Sherri Wilson received 171 votes both for re-election as a library trustees. And Cemetery Commissioner Mary Reilly received 186 votes to return to her post there.
Few voters made it to the polls Tuesday, which was similar to the town meeting that saw less than 100 people attend. In recent years hot issues brought out voters to both the election and the meeting. The largest debate in town had already been decided by this spring when voters approved the Mount Greylock Middle and High School Building Project. That vote saw more than 1,100 voters make it to the polls in March.
With that decided, the town had little controversy heading into this election cycle and the poll numbers reflect that.
Tags: election 2016, town elections,
