In Coventry, a GOP surge

COVENTRY — This year’s election had its share of backlash against Republican incumbents, with many swept away during the national Democratic tidal wave.

In Coventry, the backlash did a U-turn. The GOP took three out of four Town Council seats in contention Tuesday. With one Republican already on the council, they now have the majority, for the first time since 1985.

“We came together as a team. We had a great slate,” Republican Town Committee Chairman Charles Vacca said. “We did a lot of things that Coventry politics has never seen.”

Later this month when the Town Council reorganizes, the GOP will dominate, 4 to 1: former School Committee Chairman Raymond E. Spear, who ousted council President Justin A. Pomfret in District 1; Laura Flanagan, in District 2, over Anthony Colaluca, and Glenford J. Shibley taking over the District 4 seat formerly held by Bruce Thompson. Lone Republican incumbent Kenneth L. Cloutier, in District 5, ran unopposed for his second term.

Frank Hyde, the sitting Democrat in District 3, stood alone against the tide: he won a fourth term, although an ethics complaint is pending against him.

This election, the Democrats faced a few uphill battles of their own. Thompson abruptly stepped down, causing party officials to scramble for a ballot replacement. Longtime party chairman Kevin McGee suddenly resigned. Other party members made hasty departures because of general divisiveness.

— Lisa Vernon-Sparks

Smithfield GOP may take 2 boards

SMITHFIELD — Republicans are poised to capture both the Town Council and the School Committee, according to figures released yesterday by the state Board of Elections.

More than 600 mail ballots were yet to be counted, however, and the new tally could change the outcome. The elections board may issue the results today.

The results of Tuesday’s balloting in Smithfield were delayed a day due to a printing error on the ballots delivered to polling places.

Democrats had held 3-2 majorities on both the council and School Committee.

The figures released yesterday showed Maxine A. Cavanagh, a Republican and former member of the council, leading Councilman Bernard A. Hawkins, a Democrat and vice president of the council, 3,953 votes to 3,871.

Four other incumbents topped the list: Stephen R. Archambault, a Democrat and council president, received 4,589 votes; S. Jean Cerroni, Democrat, 4,452; Michael J. Flynn, Republican, 4,396, and Ronald F. Manni, Republican, 4,003.

In the School Committee race, where two seats out of five were in contest, Alberto J. LaGreca Jr., a Republican and former president of the Town Council, pulled in 4,768 votes for an apparently insurmountable lead. Joan J. LaFauci, a Democrat and incumbent, received 4,743. That left LaFauci ahead of incumbent and fellow Democrat Lauraine A. Ouellette, who received 4,148 votes, and Sean J. Clough, a Republican, who got 3,272.

In the presidential race, Sen. Barack Obama pulled in 5,217 votes, or 52.6 percent, trailed by Sen. John McCain with 4,419 votes or 45.4 percent. Next came independent Ralph Nader with 128 votes, or 1.3 percent, Libertarian Bob Barr with 31 votes or 0.3 percent, the Green Party’s Cynthia McKinney with 19 votes or 0.2 percent, and the Constitution Party’s Chuck Baldwin with 17 votes or 0.2 percent.

Smithfield voters approved both statewide bond questions, passing Question 1’s transportation borrowing by 6,833 to 2.250 votes, or 75.2 percent to 24.8 percent, and Question 2’s open-space borrowing by 5,903 to 3,123, or 65.4 percent to 34.6 percent.

— Thomas J. Morgan

Portsmouth council goes to GOP

PORTSMOUTH — Republicans apparently captured a majority on the seven-member Town Council, turning out three of four incumbent Democrats on a call for tighter spending and lower taxes.

Absentee ballot results weren’t in yesterday, but it seemed highly unlikely that Democrats could regain a majority.

GOP Town Committee Chairman Frank Oliveira said “something resonated” in Republicans’ message that the last time the party had control of the council it was able to cut taxes without affecting services, although school officials would disagree with that claim. He attributed the GOP’s strength to door-to-door campaigning by candidates Joe Robicheau and Jeffrey Plumb.

— Gina Macris

All-new Charlestown council

CHARLESTOWN — The day after voters swept acting Town Council President James M. Mageau out of office and gave all five council seats to the candidates backed by the Charlestown Citizens Alliance, Mageau — who was the only incumbent running for reelection — said he was “proud and satisfied” with what he accomplished during his one term.

It was because of his leadership, he said, that Hopkinton voters approved two of the three bond issues proposed for the Chariho Regional Schools. “I think they realized how important it is to have the three towns in there together,” he said. “And they also realized Charlestown would not withdraw under the conditions that some of the people in Hopkinton were advocating.”

After the new council is sworn in Nov. 17, he said, his only role will be as a member of the Democratic Town Committee.

Alliance President Daniel Slattery said his group was “absolutely thrilled” with the wide margin by which alliance-endorsed candidates won. The five, from Marjorie F. Frank with 2,608 votes to Charlene Q. Dunn with 2,424, far outpolled the sixth-highest vote getter, Raymond Stanley Dreczko Jr., who garnered 1,350 votes. Of nine candidates, Mageau came in last, with 798 votes.

Calling the outcome a mandate, Slattery said the council would no longer be in “a constant deadlock.” The new members, he said, “will restore good government and civility to the council.”

Lack of civility is why Marjorie Frank got involved, she said last night. The retired physical therapist promised that the new council would work in the open, listen with civility and “do what the people of Charlestown want.

Town Administrator Edward M. Barrett, who was hired by Mageau and two other council members without a search process or public comment, said he had no comment on the outcome of the election.

Slattery said he couldn’t comment on whether the new council would ask for Barrett’s resignation or require him to reapply for the town administrator’s job.

— Donita Naylor

Counting write-ins in Pawtucket

PAWTUCKET — The Board of Canvassers will resume its count of write-in ballots for the School Committee today after discovering that poll workers mistakenly placed some of them with regular ballots in sealed containers that went to the state Board of Elections.

Registrar Kenneth R. McGill said he will go to the Board of Elections this morning to retrieve about 200 write-in ballots to finish the count that began yesterday. Workers have counted more than 1,400 write-in ballots so far, he said. The write-in candidate who receives the most votes will be declared the winner.

The School Committee race seemed like a sure thing for all seven Democratic candidates who were running unopposed until Matthew F. Gunnip was forced to drop out at the last minute, spurring three people to wage a write-in campaign for his seat.

The write-in candidates are incumbent School Committeewoman Amy Breault Zolt, former School Committee member Raymond J. Spooner and incumbent School Committee Chairman Gordon Gould.

— Staff report

Clerks still counting in Richmond

RICHMOND — Three “generations” of town clerks clerked for all they were worth at Town Hall yesterday.

Town Clerk Mary Morgan, who did not run for reelection this year, and her predecessor, Patricia Valliere, helped tally about 911 write-in ballots yesterday while Tracy Nelson Hay, now a clerk assistant and soon to be town clerk, took care of business at the counter.

Deputy Town Clerk Helena M. Bowen, who mounted a write-in campaign after losing to Hay in the Democratic primary, used a sick day yesterday.

There are still 173 absentee ballots to be counted, Morgan said last night. On Tuesday night, the machine-count tally was 1,905 votes for Hay and 1,054 for Republican Paul H. Michaud. Write-ins for Bowen came to 589, Morgan said.

— Donita Naylor

Tiverton school board chief out

TIVERTON — Denise deMedeiros, who personified the School Committee’s hard line in a year-long labor dispute with teachers, is apparently out.

Newcomer Danielle Coulter, a chiropractor, was the top vote getter for School Committee in local balloting on Tuesday, although absentee results have yet to be released.

Tiverton Citizens for Change, the anti-tax political action committee, campaigned for Coulter and other endorsed candidates. The TCC helped send four of its picks to apparent victory on the seven-member Town Council, including incumbent Donald Bollin and former member Cecil Leonard, as well as first-time candidates Jay Lambert and Ed Roderick.

Local Democrats overlapped with the endorsement of Leonard and Bollin. Democrats also backed three other incumbents who apparently will remain on the council: Louise Durfee, Joanne Arruda and Hannibal Costa.

Two Democrat-backed School Committee candidates, incumbent Sally Black and newcomer Carol Herrman, also appeared to have won seats.

— Gina Macris