There were two precincts in town that had an extraordinary number of candidates; precincts 1 & 9. Both precincts have a current or pending land use issue. In Precinct 1 a zoning overlay for the Temple Shalom property was defeated at a special town meeting. The Temple has said they plan to put the property up for sale. The Governor Stoughton land sits inside Precinct 9. A committee formed by the Selectmen finished their report earlier this year and recommended that an endowment be established. They did not recommend a specific use for the land but potential development options were heatedly debated at public hearings and the issue was an important one in the Selectman’s race.
Bob Sweeney who narrowly defeated Kathy Fagan was a co-chair of the Stoughton Committee and stated he felt that there was urgency to resolving the issue of what is to become of the property. The selectmen are the trustees of the land that was left by Governor Stoughton to benefit the poor of Milton. He favors preserving the historic character of the land. Ms. Fagan advocated for more discussion and exploration of options, arguing that the immediate concerns with the property (e.g. the location of a new animal shelter and the safety of the existing structures) has been addressed.
In Precinct 9 four incumbents lost their town meeting seats. They were Jeffrey Marr, James O’Leary, Roger Connor, and Laurie Macintosh. They have been replaced by Sean Fahy, John Hajjar, Michael Kelly, and James Pasquantonio.
In Precinct 1 three incumbents lost their seats. They were: Joyce Nkwah, Susan Lange, and Emmett Schmarsow. They were replaced by Carolyn Cahill, Catherine King, and Joseph Sloane.
Here are the full results for these two highly contested precincts:
PRECINCT 1 (* = Incumbent) The top 7 won seats.
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PRECINCT 9 (* = Incumbent) The top 8 won seats.
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