Nearby Town Meeting results

By Layla Burke Hastings and Jordan J. Phelan
[email protected]
The second Tuesday in March is reserved for the sacred deliberation of ideas that coalesces into the voting process of New Hampshire municipalities.

The following are the results of a few elections held in the nearby towns of Grantham, Newport, Plainfield, Sunapee and Unity. Results that were not received on Tuesday or Wednesday will be made available online once we acquire them.

GRANTHAM PASSES 7 ZONING CHANGE ARTICLES

All six candidates on the town ballot in Grantham were elected by voters, including Lorie McClory, Maynard Goldman, and G. Warren Kimball, who all ran unopposed for moderator, treasurer, and selectperson, respectively.

Voters did have a choice of two candidates for the one three-year term school board seat. Current Grantham School Board Chair Brittany Pye (175) won re-election. Tanya McIntire ended up with a total of 46 votes.

The following candidates also won their respective races: Evan Weaver (three-year-term trustee of the trust funds), G. Warren Kimball (three-year-term cemetery trustee), Constance Horton (three-year term trustee of the Dunbar Free Library), Donna Stamper (six-year term supervisor of the checklist), and Carl Hanson (one-year term school board moderator).

Caroline Christie (21) won as a write-in candidate for the position of school district treasurer. Brenda Molloy (25) won as a write-in candidate for the position of school district clerk.

All town articles — which pertained to zoning changes and recommended by the planning board — were passed by large margins.

NEWPORT DENIES REPLACEMENT BUS, CONTINGENCY FUND

Voters in Newport voted down four of the seven articles on the ballot, which aimed to allocate funds for, among other things, the purchasing of a replacement bus.

In the sole competitive race, incumbent Jenna Darling (484), who took over the seat last year following the resignation of former board member Virginia Irwin, won re-election against Kurt Minich (365). Virginia Irwin, who ran as a write-in candidate for the one-year term school district moderator position, received a total of 141 votes.

The following candidates also won their respective races: William Howard Dunn (one-year term school district moderator) and Robert Scott (one-year school district treasurer and one-year school district clerk).

Article 3 regarding the appropriation of $19.81 million for the town budget was passed by a vote of 589 to 323.

Article 4 permitting the Newport School District to accept provisions (gifts) was not passed by a vote of 480 to 431.

Article 5 regarding the authorization of a contingency fund was not passed by a vote of 594 to 313.

Article 6 regarding the appropriation of $40,000 to purchase a replacement school bus from the Capital Reserve Fund was not passed by a vote of 487 to 426.

Article 7 regarding the appropriation of $25,000 to be added to the Unanticipated Educational Services Capital Reserve Fund was passed by a vote of 669 to 239.

Article 8 regarding the appropriation of $125,000 for unanticipated educational services from the Special Education Capital Reserve Fund to students who are entitled to special educational services was not passed by a vote of 531 to 379.

Article 9 regarding the appropriation of $1 to cover an unanticipated shortfall in revenue and expenditures was passed by a vote of 768 to 148.

PLAINFIELD WRITES IN 10 CANDIDATES

Voters cast their votes at the elementary school on Tuesday to choose nearly a dozen town officials to represent them in the upcoming years.

This was the first of two parts of Plainfield’s town meeting. The second part is when voters gather in the school gymnasium on Saturday, March 14, to vote in public on town warrants.

In Article 1, voters chose officeholders in 12 total races. Of the dozen contests, three were contested and eight were uncontested. No one declared their candidacy for the one-year term school board position.

Plainfield Selectboard Chair Ron Eberhardt (345) won re-election for a three-year term selectboard seat against Marc Morgan, who received 215 votes.

Current Library Trustee Rosemary Mills (326) won re-election against Beverly Widget, who received 215 votes. Adrienne Cedeno (320) won the one-year term library trustee position against John Hendrick, who received 207 votes.

The following candidates also won their respective races: Paul Franklin (one-year term school district moderator and two-year term town moderator), Chris Forman (three-year term school board), Lisa Elder (one-year term school district clerk), Jeffrey Moore (one-year term school district treasurer), Bradford Atwater (three-year term cemetery trustee), Ed Stansfield (three-year term trustee of trust funds), and Alice Eberhardt (six-year term supervisor of the checklist).

Without any declarative candidate on the ballot for the position of school board member, Kate Whybrow won as a write-in candidate with 260 votes. Dennis Girouard was also a write-in candidate who received 103 votes.

SLIM MARGIN DENIES SCHOOL BUDGET, ROUTE 11 STUDY IN SUNAPEE

Four out of 19 seats on the ballot in Sunapee remain vacant as voters decided at the polls, including the positions of cemetery commission, zoning board, trustee of the trust fund, and school clerk.

Two positions on the ballot were contested.

Incumbents Susi Churchill (691) and Suzanne Tether (593) won re-election for the two three-year term library trustee positions. Shannon Martinez ended up with 513 votes.

Sunapee Planning Board Chair Peter White (733) and board member Joseph Butler (589) won re-election for the two three-year term planning board positions. Shannon Martinez ended up with 524 votes.

The following candidates also won their respective races: Aaron Simpson (two-year term town moderator and one-year term school moderator), Sue Gottling (three-year term selectperson), Alan Doherty (one-year term treasurer and one-year term school treasurer), Faith Webb Reney (six-year term supervisor of the checklist), Elizabeth Bowen (two-year term library trustee), J. Anthony Bergeron (three-year term water and sewer commission), Jimmy Williams (three-year term water and sewer commission), Edward Anderson (three-year term school board member), and Jesse Tyler (three-year term school board member).

School Article 3 regarding the $25.6 million school budget was not passed by a vote of 714 to 697.

Town Article 29 regarding the appropriation of $27,000 to fund an engineering study for the Route 11 Parking and Pedestrian Improvements Project was not passed by a vote of 673 to 649.

All additional articles were passed.

3 SEATS STILL REMAIN EMPTY IN UNITY

A sole competitive race and three vacant positions summarized the Unity ballot.

John Callum Jr. (58) won a heated race for the one selectboard seat against fellow contender Douglas Rowe (53).

Two school board seats were also up for vote on Unity’s ballot, all of which had one person officially running and no contestors.

The following candidates also won their respective races: Fred Bellimer (two-year term moderator), Gordon Brann (one-year term library trustee), Glenn Walker (three-year planning board member), Heather Bliss (two-year term trustee of trust funds), Cathy Lombardo (three-year term trustee of trust funds), Sally Teague (two-year term supervisor of the checklist), Marjorie Erickson (three-year term school board seat), Fred Bellimer (1-year school moderator), Dorothy McClay (1-year school treasurer), Susan Schroeter (1-year school clerk).

Unity had no articles on Tuesday’s ballot.