Election results: Shawn McDonald, John Haran keep Select Board seats

Apr 2, 2019

Dartmouth voters have spoken: Both current Select Board members will keep their seats on the board.

With all precincts reporting, Select Board member Shawn McDonald has won his bid to keep his Select Board seat with 1,484 votes. His challenger, former Dartmouth Police Sergeant Frank Condez, had 679 votes.

“I’m very happy, and it’s actually very humbling to be re-elected again,” McDonald said. “I guess people recognize the job I’ve done in the past, and expect me to do the same thing, and that will happen.”

His biggest priority will be tackling the Bliss Corner issue. In Bliss Corner, state investigators are probing just how widespread pollution from PCBs and toxic metals could be after several properties tested positive for the banned industrial chemical. That could be a long process — he noted developments will likely happen over the next few years.

“The town is going to do whatever it needs to do to take care of its citizens, and cooperate with the DEP,” McDonald said.

Select Board member John Haran also keeps his seat. Haran secured 1,143 votes. He was being challenged by former Select Board member Kelli Martin Taglianetti, who lost with 1,074 votes.

“We’re ecstatic,” Haran said. “It was a good, hard campaign. We kept a positive campaign and we didn’t go negative on anything.”

Haran credited the support of his wife Janine and his work reaching out to voters with giving him the edge in the election. He said he knocked on at least 1,000 doors in the lead up to election night.

With the election out of the way, Haran said he will be focused on helping residents in Bliss Corner and Lake Noquochoke. A dispute over who will have to pay for needed repairs to a dam is at issue at Lake Noquochoke.

In the final contested race, realtor Margaret Sweet won an open seat on the Planning Board with 1,232 votes. Her challenger, recycling executive Tim Cusson, had 793 votes. 

“I want to thank those who voted for me, and I hope I will do a good job,” Sweet said. She stressed her commitment to treating all those who appear before the board fairly, and protecting private property rights. 

All other races were uncontested.

Kevin Santos was re-elected on the Board of Assessors with 1,385 votes.

School Committee members John Nunes and Christopher Oliver were re-elected with 1,586 and 1,506 votes respectively. Incumbent William Chandler and newcomer Joan Menard were voted to the Trustees of the Free Public Libraries with 1,400 votes and 1,514 votes, respectively.

Lynne Brodeur won re-election to the Board of Health with 1,485 votes. Stephen Taylor won an open seat to the Planning Board with 1,514 votes. Melissa Haskell was re-elected as Town Moderator with 1,576 votes.

James Vieira and Joe Vieira were re-elected to the Parks Board with 1,479 votes and 1,515 votes respectively.

Elaine Lancaster and Bradford Thelin were re-elected to the Housing Authority with 1,505 votes and 1,412 votes respectively.

In the town election, 2,282 of Dartmouth’s 22,322 registered voters turned out to vote. That represents a 10.22 percent voter turnout.