Newcomers grab Swampscott seats

SWAMPSCOTT – Two relative newcomers to town politics toppled an incumbent and a former selectman in a five-way race for two seats on the Board of Selectmen.Richard Malagrifa and David Van Dam beat out incumbent Eric Walker, Susan Raiche and Reid Cassidy, who is a former selectman, for the two available seats.Van Dam, who was at Town Hall with family and friends waiting for results to come in, said he was surprised to learn he topped the ticket in the selectman’s race with 890 votes.”I didn’t know what to expect,” he said. “I worked very hard. I had my feet to the road and it was push, push, push. I appreciate everyone running because we all care about the town.”Malagrifa, who garnered 760 votes, was thrilled he won a seat.It was my first time running for office and I go full throttle when I do things,” he said. “I worked very hard. I’ve been pounding the pavement and going door to door. I’d like to thank my supporters and everyone who voted for me.”Walker received 642 votes, Cassidy had 519 and Raiche was at the back of the pack with 372 votes.Van Dam said he is ready to hit the ground running.”I’m anxious to start,” he said. There are so many issues – the Fish House expansion and the police station.”Malagrifa, who was surrounded by family and friends, agreed the proposed deck on the historic Fish House is one of the first items that would be on the agenda.”I’m looking forward to getting to work,” he said.Despite the highly contested race for selectman, only 18.2 percent of the 10,261 registered voters in town went to the polls.Jorge Briones Jr., Sylvia Belkin and Dana Swanstrom were jockeying for one three-year term on the Planning Board. Belkin won with 751 votes.”I’m very happy,” she said. “I worked hard and plan to continue working hard.”For the Housing Authority, newcomer Gerald Sneirson was unable to unseat 25-year incumbent Barbara Eldridge for a five-year term. Eldridge received 936 votes and Sneirson got 492.All the other races were unopposed. Joseph Markarian was elected town moderator. Incumbent Lawrence Block was reelected for another term on the Board of Health, Incumbent Neil Sheehan was reelected to serve a three-year term on the Board of Assessors and Marianne McDermott secured the three-year library trustee seat. Newcomers Jaren Landen and Laurier Beaupre won the two seats up for grabs on the School Commmittee. Jeffrey S. Blonder was elected to serve a five-year term on the Planning Board. Constables Robert Donnelly, Paul Minsky and Stephen Simmons were also reelected.