11.8.2000 02:18
Democrats retain 4-1 majority on council
While Republican Town Councilman Douglas H. Allen was defeated, GOP newcomer Elizabeth Robinson ousted an incumbent Democrat in a three-way district race.

By TATIANA PINA
Journal Staff Writer

LINCOLN -- Town voters made history last night when they elected women to the Town Council for the first time.

It appears that the Town Council will continue to be dominated by Democrats 4 to 1.

In what appeared to be an upset, Democrat Patricia M. Melucci unseated two-term councilman Republican Douglas H. Allen in the District 1 race, in the Saylesville area.

Unofficial Journal results showed Melucci winning 982 votes to Allen's 869. There are a potential of 63 mail ballots to be counted.

A stunned Allen said he could not explain the vote.

"You think you are doing a good job. You wonder what more you could do. I know some of the stuff I worked on will be passed by the Democrats," Allen said. "Sometimes you wonder what people are thinking. You get the government you ask for."

"I think what is happening is that a lot of people are moving to Lincoln. When they are voting it looks like they want Lincoln to look like their old community," said Allen, 37, a business owner. "We are going to learn what its like to live in Johnston."

Melucci attributed her victory to shoe leather. She said she visited 1,671 families. That's every house in her district, she said.

Melucci, 50, a retired town school teacher, said her reputation helped her get the vote.

Melucci was celebrated last night with supporters and a buffet at Melucci's Lincoln Lanes, which she and her husband owns.

"I won't be Saylesville's politician. I will be its civil servant," she pledged.

Melucci said that Lincoln had made history last night. "It elected the first women. I think Liz [Robinson] and I will be twice as good. I know we will both look beyond partisan lines."

In what some residents expected would happen in a three-way race, Republican Elizabeth Robinson defeated two-term incumbent Eddy DelGrande and independent Derek M. Meiklejohn in District 2 in Lonsdale.

Unofficial Journal results show Robinson with 738 votes. DelGrande had 612 votes and Meiklejohn had 468. There are a potential of 63 mail ballots to be counted.

Robinson, who was at Town Administrator Burton Stallwood's insurance agency on Front Street, which doubled as the town Republican headquarters, seemed surprised at the results and the fact that she had made history by becoming one of the first two women to be elected to the Town Council.

Republican supporters congratulated Robinson and took comfort in her victory as they heard the losing figures for Stallwood and the other Republican candidates. Supporters who had been cheery and joking at first became quiet and thoughtful as thevoting results came in.

Robinson said she had decided to run because she didn't think her district had been properly represented. She said she would pay close attention to the Lincoln Park gambling facility and open space needs in town.

Robinson said DelGrande had not kept residents informed about a low-income housing project that a developer plans to build in Lonsdale. The project is currently being delayed by the town in court. Robinson said the developers will probably win the case.

In District 3, in the Lime Rock and Fairlawn section, Democratic incumbent Town Councilman Dean L. Lees Jr. defeated Republican Robert S. Jensen by an unofficial tally of 1,161 to 980. There are a potential of 63 mail ballots to be counted.

Jensen, is a former town councilman who challenged Lees in a three-way race in the last election.

Incumbent Democratic Town Councilman Raymond N. Depault defeated Republican Richard G. Petrin for the District 4 seat representing Albion, Quinnville and Lime Rock, by an unofficial vote of 1,450 to 1,030. Up to 117 mail ballots remain to be counted.

Incumbent Democratic Town Councilman Dennis M. Auclair won a third term in District 5 in Manville by an unoffical vote of 696 to Republican William D. Barry's 466. There up to 49 mail ballots to be counted in that race.

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