MARBLEHEAD — School Committee incumbent Jennifer A. Schaeffner’s loss in the June town election spelled an upset on a night that saw Pond Street resident Emily L. Barron winning a committee seat and committeewoman Sarah Jane Gold winning reelection.
Board of Selectmen incumbents Jackie Belf-Becker, Moses Grader, Judith R. Jacobi and James E. Nye won re-election with Jacobi topping the ticket with 3,063 votes and board newcomer David Depew received 2,507 votes.
In a year dominated by COVID-19, Marblehead rallied to combat the virus.
When Peter Jackson received a call in July asking him to participate in Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine trial, the Marblehead resident didn’t hesitate.
An executive for a subsidiary of healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson, Jackson (who was not speaking on behalf of his company) said he had no qualms about jumping headfirst into the biotech giant’s vaccine race, the local trials for which would take place right at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The Marblehead Arts Association in November launched a nationwide search — not for anything specific, but simply for art.
“In this COVID-19 pandemic that has been a part of our existence since March, the MAA, like most entities, has had to struggle and be creative in its efforts not only to raise funds for its projects, but to do projects that people can see. After all, art is a shared experience,” said executive director Patti Baker.
In other town news:
— A programmable LED sign — located on Ocean Avenue near Devereux Beach — was presumably hacked in August to prominently display the words “God is Gay” to passing motorists.
— The annual Christmas Walk focused on festive events and shopping opportunities was held but without Santa Claus arriving on a lobster boat.
— Police Officer Timothy Tufts resigned in mid December after being put on paid administrative leave for allegedly scratching a swastika into the paint of another officer’s personal vehicle.
