Boucher Wins Write-in for Clarksburg Select Board
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The Select Board will have a full complement this year after Ronald Boucher won write-in victory for a three-year term.
Only 110 ballots were cast in the annual town election on Tuesday, less than 10 percent of registered voters in the town. However, it took about an hour to count all the ballots because of the high number of write-ins, said Town Clerk Carol Jammalo.
Boucher is a new resident, having moved to Clarksburg last summer from North Adams. He does have plenty of experience in local government — he served eight terms on the City Council, including as chairman, and spent a number of years as an appointed member of the Hoosac Water Quality District representing North Adams. Boucher also ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2011 and considered a second run last year before he and his family made the decision to move out of the city.
Since then, he's been appointed to the Finance Committee, which has produced one of the least controversial budgets in years.
The three-year seat was being left vacant by Jeffrey Levanos, who chose not to run for a third term. No one took out nomination papers for the seat leading Boucher to mount a last-minute write-in campaign. That garnered him 20 votes and won him the seat.
Joining him on the Select Board will be Karin Robert, who was the only candidate to take out papers to complete the last year of a three-year term. It will, however, be a somewhat inexperienced board with two brand-new members and Kimberly Goodell, who also won her three-year seat last year as a write-in.
In the only race on the ballot, Cynthia Brule won a three-year seat on the School Committee over Martha Beattie. The seat had been held by John Solari who declined to run for a third term.
Two other write-ins also won office: Ernest Dix for another one-year term a tree warden and Carlyle Chesbro Sr. for a three-year term as War Memorial trustee.
Running unopposed were longtime Moderator Bryan Tanner for another one-year term; Norman Rolnick, returned to the Board of Health for three years; Gregory Vigna, elected in 2017 to complete the final year of a term on the Planning Board, won a full five-year term; and Debra Bua, re-elected for another three-year term as library trustee.
Tags: election 2018, town elections,
