Nelson wins selectman seat over Terranova in Lynnfield

LYNNFIELD – Some of Lynnfield’s boards and committees will begin to feature new faces, as Monday’s town election had no incumbents in the three contested races.David Nelson won the Board of Selectmen race, with 1,060 votes, while his opponent, Thomas Terranova, received 693 votes, said Assistant Town Clerk Diane Hammerbeck.Nelson was sworn in to the board after it reconvened following election results from Hammerbeck. The former Finance Committee member and departing Board of Assessors chair then took a seat with fellow Selectmen Al Merritt and Robert MacKendrick, and offered his thanks to his family, campaign committee and the town.”I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get working with the Board of Selectmen,” Nelson said. “I do plan to also get involved with a lot of boards, commissions and committees, and sit in on their meetings and see what they do and how they do it in different departments. I think that’s a good source of how a new selectman should start out.”In the School Committee race, Christopher Barrett and Salvatore Cammarata were victorious over former five-term committee member James Dillon. Barrett had 1,305 votes, Cammarata had 766 votes and Dillon had 636 votes, said Hammerbeck.”Certainly I’m humbled by the results that I received, and I think it’s a vote of confidence,” Barrett said in a phone interview after the winners were announced.Cammarata said in a phone interview that he is anxious to get started, especially since he is now retired after 33 years in public education and has the time to devote to the position.”I think the board’s going to continue to be what it always has been, which is high-functioning and high-impact when it comes to student learning and achievement,” he said.Donald Garrity won the Board of Assessors race with 995 votes, besting Harry LeCours, who received 641 votes, said Hammerbeck.Out of 9,091 registered Lynnfield voters, 1,778 people, or 20 percent, came out between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. to the polls at Lynnfield High School, according to election data from the Town Clerk’s office. This year’s election turnout was high compared with recent years – 259 total voters in 2011 and 454 in 2010 – because of the amount of contested races, said Town Clerk Amy Summers.In the uncontested races, Seavey Bowdoin and Kerry Ellen Haughney won re-election to three-year library trustee terms, Arthur Bourque will replace David Miller as town moderator, and Randall Crompton and Richard O’Neil won a five-year and one-year term, respectively, to the Planning Board. In addition, Lillian Ross was restored to the Housing Authority for a five-year term, while Michael Walsh was the write-in victor with six votes for an unexpired term of two years to the Housing Authority to replace the late John Donegan.Sarah Mupo can be reached at [email protected].