Nowak, Blanchard Returned to Adams Board of Selectmen
ADAMS, Mass. — Joseph Nowak and Richard Blanchard were re-elected to the Board of Selectmen on Monday.
The two incumbents were handed second three-year terms over Michael Ouellette, a former selectman.
In unofficial totals, Nowak took the lead with 600 votes, with Blanchard at 411 and Ouellette at 329.
"I'm happy to be able to continue the work we've started," said Blanchard, who was first elected in 2013.
Nowak has been the favorite in both of his races for selectman, polling 888 votes in his first run three years ago. He won handily in all five precincts on Monday by 30 votes or more.
Ouellette, who served from 2008 to 2014, had jumped into the race at almost the last minute at the urging of friends, but couldn't overcome his two opponents.
Turnout was low, at 13.5 percent. Of the town's 5,763 registered voters, only 780 went to the town garage to cast ballots. At 3 p.m. , only 454 people had voted.
"It has been kind of steady, not busy though," Town Clerk Haley Meczywor said earlier in the day. "One, two, three or four people at a time ... I am kind of disappointed because we at least have a race here in town."
She thought the dreary, rainy weather didn't help with voter turnout.
Plus, the Selectmen was the only race on the ballot. All other incumbents were returned to office without challengers.
However, a vacant seat representing Adams on the Adams-Cheshire Regional School Committee did see some write-ins.
Jennifer Andrews of Summer Street, a homemaker with two children in the district and another entering in the fall, won the seat with 78 votes. Incumbent Paul Butler was returned to his seat on the committee with 595 votes.
Tags: election 2016, election results, town elections,
