Buckley defeats Kearns for selectman seat
Leslie H. Dixon / Daily News Staff
MILFORD -- Former School Committee member William Buckley defeated Cynthia Kearns by 273 votes for a seat on the Board of Selectmen in yesterday's annual town election.
Buckley, 45, said last night he was pleased he and Kearns were able to stick to the issues during the campaign.
"I'm glad I'm able to go in there (to the Board of Selectmen) without fighting through personality issues or after a divisive campaign," Buckley said last night from his Iadarola Avenue home, where he was celebrating his victory.
Buckley -- who garnered 1,342 votes to Kearns' 1,069, with 66 blanks and 7 write-ins -- said he was appreciative and humbled by the vote and thanked his campaign workers and voters.
He also praised Kearns for keeping the campaign focused on the issues and wished her well. "I hope Cindi continues to stay involved," he said.
Kearns, 45, of Bear Hill Road, who sits on the Capital Improvement Committee, said she was disappointed by the low voter turnout.
She said she would not change a thing if she had to run her campaign again.
"We had a really great time," she said. "I wish Bill well in the next three years."
A total of 2,484 votes, or about 13 percent of the 15,021 registered voters, cast ballots for 26 candidates, including candidates in five contested races.
As of 2 p.m., halfway through election day, only 1,217 voters had cast ballots, said Assistant Town Clerk Mary Martin.
"I've never seen it so slow," said one voter.
In a hotly contested race, Barry Knowlton and Victor Valenti beat out John Byrnes for two, three-year seats on the Board of Library Trustees. Byrnes lost out in his bid by only 45 votes, with 1,028 to Knowlton's 1,073 tally. Valenti was the high vote getter with 1,351 votes.
In another controversial race, Tree Warden Charles Reneau was re-elected by almost 1,000 votes.
Reneau, who had accused his challenger Allen Linnell of failing to carry proper insurance for his tree removal and landscape business, won by a tally of 1,534 votes to 562.
He thanked the voters last night at Town Hall, where he waited for the results.
"I'll continue to serve the town and do as good a job as I can," he said. Linnell was not available for comment last night.
In the two-way race for Housing Authority, Katherine Consigli, with 1,150 votes, defeated William Cavazza III, who garnered 949.
Michael Bellacqua beat Kris Brenna for a two-year unexpired constable term by a 1,112-to-749 vote.
Other candidates re-elected to their seats last night were: Joseph Arcudi, town clerk for three years (1,942 votes); Joseph Niro, assessor for three years (1,714); Robert Andreano, assessor for a two-year unexpired term (1,830); Shelly Leclaire, highway surveyor for three years (1,915); William Besozzi (1,542) and William Kingkade Jr. (1,581) for two, three-year seats on the School Committee; Michael Noferi for a three-year town moderator stint (1,882).
Other incumbents who won re-election last night were: Nazzareno Baci for a three-year term on the Park Commission (1,732); Leonard Izzo for a three-year Board of Health seat (1,730); Scott Lanzetta for one, three-year seat on the Sewer Commission (1,648); Nicole DeMaria for a five-year seat on the Housing Authority (1,658).
Also elected were: Marble Mainini III for Planning Board for three years (1,593); Nancy Ahrens for one, one-year unexpired term on the Board of Library Trustees (1,520); William Crivello (1,554) and Henry Shahnamian (1,181) each won a seat on the Vernon Grove Cemetery board.
Arcudi was the top vote-getter with 1,942 votes, followed by Leclaire with 1,915 votes.