Commentary by Frank Schroth

Where to begin?

First with congratulations to the winners. Selectmen, Clerk, Assessor, and Planning Board were all hard-fought contests. The candidates invested . . . a lot.

But it is hard not to be a bit surprised and be left asking some questions. Denis Keohane beat an  incumbent for Selectman. He was able to forge a coalition of progressives and conservatives to prevail over a man with a long and deep history in town. How much the Pulte decision on the Stoughton property hurt John Shields is hard to say. It was likely a factor. In addition, Keohane took an aggressive tack with Shields, calling his decision on the police chief’s contract “disgraceful.” Based on his campaign we can expect Keohane to extend the Chief’s contract , giving special consideration to that department given its mission. Keohane will work on the morale at town hall. He stated during the campaign his surprise that people on the second floor don’t talk to people on the first. He also committed to using his connections to resolving the East Milton parking situation and having a portion of the deck converted to parking. And he will look after the town’s interests as the Pulte deal for the Stoughton property develops. He said the P&S had holes “you could drive a Mack truck through’ (specifically clause that allows Pulte to take back some of 4 acres retained by town if they determine the property they purchased cannot accommodate the 23 houses planned.) Town clerk results show Keohane beat Shields by less than 200 votes.

Galvin took precincts 6, 7, 8, and 9. McEttrick and Joyce split the rest and the result was Galvin realizing the highest margin of victory in a town wide contested race. Being the heir apparent of the recently retired town clerk, James Mullen, and having his endorsement probably didn’t hurt. But still the margin was a bit of a surprise. She beat out Marion McEttrick, a well-regarded attorney with a long record of service to the town, most recently as a member of the Board of Selectmen and Mike Joyce, son of State Senator Brian Joyce, who was young, tireless, and enthusiastic. He peppered the town with signs and went door to door with flyer drops. He also staked out bold positions. Joyce had vowed to take a cut in salary and return the polling locations for Precincts 2 and 3 to their previous locations (St Mary’s and Glover school). Galvin endorsed moving the precincts and believes the Clerk’s salary is a fair one given the 24×7 nature of the job. She staked her campaign on the experience she has gained as an assistant town clerk and felt she was best qualified to start on day one. Galvin took 37% of the vote to Joyce’s 32% and McEttrick’s 30%.

Jim Henderson beat out Bill Bennett for Assessor by just 26 votes. It was Henderson’s third turn at bat but Bennett was tough. Henderson focused on his strong advocacy for the taxpayer. It is likely that Bennett too may find himself on the board as Kathleen Heffernan has recently stepped down creating a vacancy. The elected Assessors will decide on an appointment and vote on that appointment together with the Board of Selectmen.

The biggest surprise, arguably, and the tightest race was for Planning Board. Mike Kelly beat Cheryl Tougias by 7 votes according to results on the Clerk’s web site. With that choice the Planning Board will continue to lack anyone who has direct experience with the types of projects that appear before that board. Mr. Kelly manages bridge and road projects for the JF White Construction company and more than one student of Milton politics cited his last name as providing him a distinct advantage over Ms. Tougias. He campaigned on a platform of using “common sense” and strict compliance with the zoning. If it meets the zoning it goes forward, if not, it doesn’t. But planning board issues do not always lend themselves well to common sense. For example, the bottom floor of the Hendries redevelopment will house commercial businesses. However, that bottom floor is not the first floor, it is technically the basement due to sloping nature of the property. Common sense might tell you it is a 5 story building but the zoning may indicate otherwise. The Hendries hearing continues on Thursday. Mr. Kelly will not be able to vote on the issue when a vote comes up as he has not been present throughout.

Kelly won by the slimmest margin in recent memory, 0.13%. Were any ballots misread? Were any blanks not blank?  It is not an unnatural question to ask if a recount is warranted. However, that is the decision of Ms. Tougias.

You can find the election results here.