UPDATED: Graffeo Wins Emotional Race to Become New Town Clerk
Incumbent Nichols falls short in re-election bid; Bernier a distant third.
Newly elected Town Clerk Denise Graffeo is all smiles after the results were read.
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Photos
UPDATED: Monday, 10 a.m.
It was a hard fight and, at times, a bitter fight.
It was also uniquely awkward as, for two months, Assistant Town Clerk Denise Graffeo shared a small office in Town Hall with Town Clerk Mary-Ann Nichols, the woman she was actively trying to unseat.
Add to the mix a second challenger, Han Bernier, who stoked the fires by suggesting conflicts of interest on the part of both Graffeo and Nichols, because they were running an election they were also participating in.
It all came to a head Saturday night, as Graffeo emerged with a clear-cut victory and will begin her new job as Town Clerk next week.
Graffeo received 2085 votes, representing 45 percent of the 4683 total votes cast. Nichols received 1632 votes (35 percent) and Bernier received 821 votes (18 percent).
"I look forward to erving Tewksbury as your next Town Clerk," said Graffeo, immediately after the results were announced. "Thank you Tewksbury. Thank you Team Graffeo. We did it!"
Nichols could immediately be reached for comment.
Graffeo had the backing of Tekwbury's new, high-tech political machine. It is the same group that fueled successful campaigns by Scott Wilson for Board of Selectmen in 2009 and Krissy Polimeno for School Committee in 2010.
They are now three-for-three.
Bernier, who positioned herself as a political outsider, said she was not discouraged by her third-place showing.
"We're not disappointed," she said. "We did a good job. I do want to congratulate Denise and wish her all the best for the next three years in accomplishing all the changes that have been proposed and in making Tewksbury a better place than it already is.
"I want to say 'thank you' to the residents and all the people who supported me and voted for me," said Bernier.
Graffeo and Bernier both campaigned on a platform of reforming the way the Town Clerk's office is run and making it more accountable. Some, including Town Manager Richard Montuori, have suggested that the position should be appointed, rather than elected and placed under the oversight of the town manager.
Bernier said she would reach out to Graffeo and offer her support and assistance.
"If she wants my help, absolutely," said Bernier. "Everyone wants positive change."
Overall turnout was strong for a municipal election, with 23 percent of the town's registered voters coming to the polls. From talking to voters at the polling places, the high turnout seemed to be driven by the ballot question regarding the shift of half the sewer debt to the tax levy.
That question passed by just 30 votes (2188-2158) and a recount is possible.
Hanson Webb
10:16 am on Sunday, April 3, 2011
Congratulations Denise and support staff! There is a lot of work ahead, people will take notice of your actions. My 2 cents: don't get sucked into the vacuum of special interests and old boys network. Do the People work that you were elected to do. Involve local residents and business; ask for input when needed. Very happy for you.
Hanson
Jennifer Nagle
8:39 pm on Sunday, April 3, 2011
"Graffeo had the backing of Tekwbury's new, high-tech political machine. It is the same group that fueled successful campaigns by Scott Wilson for Board of Selectmen in 2009 and Krissy Polimeno for School Committee in 2010. They are now three-for-three.".....
.....OR...Maybe, JUST maybe, they ran with integrity, honesty and full commitment to the betterment of our Town and residents took notice. Doesn't matter to most educated voters who is running your campaign, it matters the character of the candidate. I'd hate to think that the residents of this Town are swayed merely by who can "sell" someone the best. JMO :)
Bill Gilman
9:22 pm on Sunday, April 3, 2011
You still need to get your message out there. And the team backing Denise has embraced and successfully utilized modern communication tools to get their message out. True, the message has to resonate with the voters. But if the voters never hear it, it doesn't matter. It wasn't a slam by any means, it was an observation of the changing methodology of modern politics, as well as the clearly changing of the guard politically in Tewksbury.
123
10:22 am on Monday, April 4, 2011
I have one question....Who is the political machine? IMO different people worked on the different campaigns that you cited above for example: Scott Wilson had very different people working on his campaign than Krissy Polimeno did....In my humble opinion how can you compare Brian Dick running Scott Wilson's campaign to Arthy Bennett running Krissy Polimeno's . It should always be about who is the best person for the job.
Karyn
10:36 am on Monday, April 4, 2011
While your last statement is certainly true in theory....it DOES help when you have a large group of younger, energetic campaign workers to get out your message, utilize technology, place your signs, hold campaign signs, etc. and then follow through with their vote.
Jonathan Ciampa
7:12 am on Monday, April 4, 2011
And let us not forget the Patch which is a big part of this new methodology and their outstanding coverage throughout this election season.
Jennifer Nagle
7:49 am on Monday, April 4, 2011
It seems while preaching the importance of character, I've blemished some of my own. The support teams and campaign committees backing the candidates did an outstanding job, and I think that was not communicated well at all in my last post. I definately will give credit when credit is due (but, obviously I fumbled this ball). My apologies to the campaign teams and Bill Gilman for not wording my post the way it should have been.
My foremost thought on candidates is the character they show. Reputation really doesn't mean too much. Reputation is what everyone thinks you are, character is what you are made of. Mrs. Graffeo and other candidates showed this Town their honesty and integrity at many different times during this election process, through many different trials (depending on the race), and I believe whole heartedly that is why some of these candidates are in the seats they are in.
So, as not to take away the hard work shown by the campaign teams, I thank you and I thank Patch and I thank the TCC for the involvement in this election. Most of all I thank the candidates for their dedication to our Town and showing their true integrity.
Bill Gilman
10:44 am on Monday, April 4, 2011
I wanted to make a quick clarification/correction to my original story. Mary-Ann Nichols will remain on as Town Clerk through this Friday. Denise Graffeo will not begin to serve as Town Clerk until next week. My apologies for the inaccurate info. The story has been updated to reflect the correction.
Bob Ferrari
11:30 am on Monday, April 4, 2011
You can't talk about "high tech political machine" unless you mention Tewksbury's very first foray into the high tech world, that would be TewksburyIssues.org ! Many political careers have started on our website. People have purchased homes in our town because they "were impressed at the involved citizenry that we found online in Tewksbury", as one poster told me.
The little website that could has grown into quite the virtual town meeting place. We started in April 2000... many years before the words Blog Blogoshpere were even invented. Anyone who is anyone goes to TewksburyIssues to be informed and to make their minds known. All the big papers in Boston and others locally also frequent the site.
Again, we welcome TewksburyPatch to town and hope you continue to be the big player that you have become!
Bob Ferrari - Webmaster of TewksburyIssues
"The Winds of Change"
Karyn
12:20 pm on Monday, April 4, 2011
I, too credit TewksburyIssues.org for being the FIRST, ONLY, and ORIGINAL source of all things Tewksbury.....ELEVEN years now this month and still going strong! TI LITERALLY brought Tewksbury "out of the dark ages" at a time when much was done behind closed doors! Congrats to Webmaster Bob Ferrari and "The Winds of Change" still blowing strong!
Bill Gilman
11:42 am on Monday, April 4, 2011
Absolutely! Credit where credit is due Bob ... you were right there at the beginning! And thanks for the kind words.
Chris Kelly
9:08 pm on Monday, April 4, 2011
One item that has not been mentioned with the elections of Wilson, Polimeno, and Graffeo is how the split 2008 town meeting impacted their political careers. Their base of voters include a large number of individuals with school aged children and their supporters have children in youth sports. These individuals typically stayed home when town elections took place prior to 2008.
I personally believe the connection is strong. Even though the outcome in 2008 was less than desirable for their supporters, I think the 2008 town meeting got this group of people involved in town politics. I think the 2008 town meeting, the vote for the new high school, and the candidates ability to mobilize the vote played a big role in getting this group to vote and these individuals winning their elections
Ronald
12:59 am on Tuesday, April 5, 2011
I would rather have the younger voters of Tewksbury decide the vote, than the Seniors. No offense to the Seniors, who used to decide each election, but they only vote for what works for them. Look at that Sr Ctr. I don't think one of them voted for the new High School. It's about time the younger vote got out therefor the future of the town. They are going to be around much longer.
Kathleen Brothers
9:52 pm on Monday, April 4, 2011
Very interesting blog from Mr. Ferrari. In my opinion, Tewksbury Issues doesn't compare to Tewksbury Patch. On Tewksbury Issues people say vicious things about others in town and in the process most of the time do not sign their real names. On Tewksbury Patch the majority of the writers are not mad at the world and everyone on it signs their names. I found on Tewksbury Issues during the campaign statements, boardering on slander and you Mr. Ferrari seem to be enjoying every minute of it! You might have had an issue back in 2009, but I think you are living in the past and are trying your hardest along with your bloggers to ruin peoples reputations. Right now you don't compare to Tewksbury Patch, in my opinion.
Mary Ellen Fernald
10:12 pm on Monday, April 4, 2011
AMEN!
Melissa Gleaton
11:09 pm on Monday, April 4, 2011
no offense, but, I've seen the same sort of arguements on here, with aliases too... it's just that TI has been around longer, and has a certain following. You can't deny that TI was here on the 'net first. And you also can't deny that ANY outlet where people are allowed to use an alias (TI, Patch, even the Lowell Sun), there will be people there who hide behind their alias to be mean. TI is NOT a news outlet. Patch IS a news outlet. Patch reports news AND gives readers a place to sound off. Do I get my daily news from TI and take it as gospel? Heck no. I also don't take the comments section from Patch or the Sun or the Globe, etc. as gospel either. Comments are comments, good or bad, but they are a great tool to get a feel for what people know, don't know, and are thinking. Just LOOK at some comments on the Boston Globe's web site. Sure, you can't compare TI to Patch or vice versa, solely based on the fact that they are apples and oranges. Having said that, I value both individually, for what they are.
Karyn
1:18 am on Tuesday, April 5, 2011
THANK YOU, MELISSA...you "get it!" :)
With all due respect to the others, I don't think Bob was comparing TI to the Patch at all! Did you not hear him give credit to the Patch in welcoming the new kid on the internet block? Like comparing apples to oranges, the two sites are VERY different yet both definitely have their righteous and valuable place in this community and I believe there's more than enough room for both to thrive concurrently.
The Patch is primarily an "online news publication" with added comment sections...a faction of a chain found in other local communities as well. TewksburyIssues is an original, one-of-a-kind, blogging/opinion forum with included valid information...created as a sounding board for residents at a time where it was sorely needed but even today is needed and every bit as relevant. IMO, it keeps our public officials on their toes, and helps foster transparency in Town Government.
It was never intended/nor pretends or claims to be a "newspaper"...it is what it is, take it or leave it...plus it always was and still is maintained at Bob's personal expense...so who is anyone to judge? If you don't like it, don't read or post there...seems simple enough. But to paint all the posters (anonymous or otherwise) with such a broad brush of negativity is just wrong! Are there some blowhards...sure...but that's life...take it with a grain of salt...I commend the webmaster for not playing the censor police unless something REALLY gets out of hand.
Karyn
1:21 am on Tuesday, April 5, 2011
(continued) In closing......
Personally, I think the residents of Tewksbury owe Bob a huge debt of gratitude for having the courage to stand up to the "old guard" and give residents a voice for over 10 years now. TewksburyIssues has withstood the "test of time" and earned a much deserved spot in this community (sometimes with blood, sweat and tears!) and I for one am proud to stand behind it. Thank you, Webmaster Bob Ferrari!
Don Ordway
10:57 am on Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Ronald you would have loved Woodstock in 1969. They didn't trust anyone over 30 either. De ja vous all over again. I'm pushing 90 Ronald and should I deside to run for office please vote for my opponent. Thank You Ronald.
DON ORDWAY
Jonathan Ciampa
11:15 am on Tuesday, April 5, 2011
I have to disagree Ronald, when we did the head count at Town Meeting to put it on the ballot, there was a lot of support from seniors. You are entitled to your opinions of course, and I have had my share of conflicts with seniors when it came to the budget, but in this case the support for the High School came from all demographics. It would be unfair not to give them credit where credit is due.