The following are unofficial results as of Tuesday evening.
SAUGUS — While a majority of the incumbents running for re-election Tuesday evening won new two-year terms, voters still managed to usher in change in town, particularly on the School Committee.
On that board, newcomer Stephanie Mastrocola and former Chair Tom Whittredge both unseated incumbent members, with Dennis Gould and Leigh Gerow losing their posts. Gould had served since 2019, while Gerow only claimed her seat last year when Whittredge resigned following his wife’s death.
Mastrocola credited her success to the fact that she “truly cares” about kids and teachers.
“I want to do what’s right,” she said, adding that she is looking forward to working with the incumbent members. “We need to do this together.”
Incumbent Chairman Vincent Serino seemed likely to retain his post as chair, pacing the field. Whittredge collected the second most votes, and is likely to replace incumbent John Hatch as vice chair. Hatch and fellow incumbent Ryan Fisher retained their seats.
Serino collected 2,443 votes, Whittredge received 2,428, and Mastrocola was the only other candidate to top 2,000, with 2,144. Hatch finished with 1,937, while Fisher collected 1,763. Gould and Gerow collected 1,570 and 1,566 votes, respectively.
Gould said he believes the town’s schools were in good hands with the five people selected to serve on the committee Tuesday. While he said it was too soon for him to know if he would run for another term in two years, he added that he will try to serve as a member of at least one subcommittee.
He fondly reflected on his time on the committee, which included guiding the district through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think we handled it well,” he said. “We moved the district forward so the next committee can continue (that work).”
Fisher had high praise for both Gerow and Gould.
“Leigh is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. She’s a fierce advocate for children, she cares deeply, and she never backs down on anything,” he said. “Dennis would give you the shirt off his back and I think attended every sporting event this year. He loves the district.”
“I only hope in the next two years I live up to them,” Fisher added.
On the Board of Selectmen, Anthony Cogliano will likely lose his chairmanship, with Debra Panetta, who had served as vice chair for the last two years, claiming the most votes in the race by a wide margin. Panetta easily paced the field with 2,986 votes, while Jeff Cicolini finished second with 2,523, positioning him to assume the vice-chairmanship. Michael Serino finished third with 2,391, Cogliano finished fourth with 2,223, and Riley collected 2,195. The two challengers in that race — Sebastian DiModica and Sandro Pansini Souza — trailed with 1,589 and 1,533 votes, respectively.
Panetta, who secured her seventh consecutive term on Tuesday, said she was grateful that residents entrusted her with the responsibility of leading the board.
She said she was thrilled Cicolini will likely assume the post of vice chair, and said they have a good working relationship, having served as chair and vice chair together on a prior board.
“For them to put their faith in me means the world to me,” she said.
Panetta said she would take a different approach to the chairmanship than Cogliano had each of the last two terms, with an added focus on working as a team to make changes.
“No one does it alone,” she said. “It’s all about the people.”
Cogliano attributed his lack of success to a greater focus on the race for Charter Commission.
Cogliano’s loss comes in the wake of a controversial year. He has faced criticism on many fronts — for fabricating signatures to aid WIN Waste Innovation’s defense in a class action lawsuit, for making allegedly homophobic comments on social media, for alleged conflicts of interest in the still pending cannabis hearings before the selectmen, and for continuing to push for the Host Community Agreement between WIN and the town. Those issues might have hurt his chances at the polls this fall.
But, Cogliano said he is proud of his work on the board and that he did not do anything to get votes.
“I thought my record as a selectman should’ve spoken for itself,” he said.
Both DiModica and Souza indicated they intend to run again in two years.
“One thing the five sitting selectmen don’t realize is that they taught me way too much,” DiModica said. “Next time around, it’ll be a whole new ballgame.”
Souza thanked those who voted for him and vowed to work hard throughout the next two years to ensure the outcome is different in 2025.
Michael Serino said he was “so happy” to see Panetta emerge as the top vote-getter.
“I figured she would top it,” he said.
Riley said with the election now in the rearview mirror, it is time to get to work.
“I’m glad to give the town two more years,” she said.
Further down the ballot, both incumbents Maureen Whitcomb and Jim Tozza were re-elected to the Housing Authority, fending off a challenge from Nicholas Melanchook.
In all, 4,982 voters turned out — 23.1% of the town’s registered voters.
