Town Election 2023: Saugus rejects ballot question to revise Town Charter by 192 votes; reelects five selectmen to third consecutive term

By Mark E. Vogler

If Selectman Anthony Cogliano had his way, he would be one of nine members on a commission to revise the Saugus Town Charter. But Cogliano’s ambitious, but polarizing campaign to consider making changes in the town’s government – including a proposal to make the town manager an elected position rather than an appointed post – failed by just 192 votes during the town’s biennial election Tuesday.

With a slim majority of the 4,744 residents who turned out to vote apparently satisfied with their current form of government, they also decided to keep the current five-member Board of Selectmen together for a third consecutive two-year term. But the voters also decided some dramatic changes on the town’s political landscape:

–There was a major power shift in the Board of Selectmen’s leadership. After being the top vote-getter in the selectmen’s race for the previous two town elections, Cogliano lost his chairmanship position when he finished fourth in a field of seven candidates – 759 votes behind his chief political rival, Selectman Debra Panetta, who got 473 more votes than the runner-up in the selectmen’s race. Panetta won her seventh consecutive two-year term on the board. And this marks the third time in the last five elections that she will chair the board.

–Two incumbent School Committee members – Leigh M. Gerow and Joseph Dennis Gould – lost their seats. School Committee Chair Vincent A. Serino topped the field of seven candidates to claim his first full two-year term as chair. Former School Committee Member Thomas Richard Whittredge – the top vote-getter in the previous two elections – finished just 21 votes behind Serino. He will serve as the committee’s vice chair. Meanwhile, Stephanie Lauren Mastrocola finished 250 votes behind Serino to claim the third spot. Voters reelected John S. Hatch and Ryan P. Fisher to their third consecutive two-year terms.

–Thirteen of 19 candidates who challenged incumbents running for reelection in the Town Meeting races were elected. Ten of the 47 Town Meeting members seeking reelection lost their seats in the 50-member chamber.

–Nine candidates received 1,045 votes or more to top a field of 27 candidates in the race to field the Charter Commission. Selectman Debra Panetta received 2,219 votes – 440 more than her closest opponent, Selectman Cogliano. But with the defeat of Ballot Question 1 – “Shall a commission be elected to revise the Charter of the Town of Saugus?” – there won’t be a commission activated to consider changes in Saugus local government.

Voters decided to reelect Housing Authority Members Maureen Whitcomb and James A. Tozza to new four-year terms. Whitcomb received 596 more votes than Tozza. And Tozza finished 471 votes ahead of the third-place candidate in the race, Nicholas V. Melanchook.

The power shift

It was just four years ago that Selectman Panetta was seeking a third consecutive term as the chair of the Board of Selectmen. She had finished as the top vote-getter in the 2015 and 2017 elections. But Cogliano received close to 700 more votes than Panetta in the 2019 election to claim the board’s leadership position. In the 2021 selectmen’s race, Cogliano finished about 325 votes ahead of Panetta to win a second term as chair.

But during this year’s political campaign, Panetta was clearly the favorite candidate. She received the most votes of any of her opponents in all 10 precincts. And she wound up winning the chair’s seat by her largest margin ever.

“I am very grateful to the Saugus voters for putting their faith and trust in me,” Panetta said this week, just hours after celebrating a lopsided win. “I am honored to serve our Saugus residents for another term,” she said.

It has been a tough year politically, with a rift developing between the board’s two leaders: Chair Cogliano and Vice Chair Panetta. Tempers flared in an October meeting, with the board’s top two leaders engaging in a verbal confrontation where they disparaged each other publicly.

Going into this week’s election, there were two major political contests at stake. Cogliano’s campaign for a Charter Commission was the major item on the town election ballot. The next biggest contest was the race for the chairmanship on the Board of Selectmen – the town’s two most prolific vote-getters squaring off. But by the end of Election Night, Cogliano had lost both contests.

Even if Question 1 had prevailed, it wouldn’t have been much of a victory for Cogliano and the members of the Moving Saugus Forward Committee. Cogliano and Peter Rossetti Jr. were the only members from Moving Saugus Forward who received enough votes to sit on the nine-member Charter Commission. Meanwhile, there were seven Charter Commission candidates that a Moving Saugus Forward ad told voters “DO NOT VOTE FOR” who would have won seats if the Charter Commission were approved: Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian, Selectman Michael Serino, School Committee Chair Vincent Serino, Jeanette Meredith, Selectman Debra Panetta, Town Meeting Member Robert Long and School Committee Member Ryan Fisher.

“Bringing about change is tough; I knew that going in,” Cogliano said yesterday, reflecting on the defeat of the ballot question.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed; the detractors certainly got their misinformation out, so I have to hand it to them. The scare tactics worked,” he said. “I want to thank everyone that worked so hard alongside me to bring about necessary change, we fell short. On a positive note, it brought out some new candidates, like Frank Federico who topped the ticket for Town meeting in Precinct 9 and another newcomer, Matt Pallante who I expect big things from representing Precinct Two,” Cogliano said. “Another rising star from the Charter race was Lori Gallivan who will be an amazing leader in Saugus politics should she decide to run in the future.”

“I put my heart and soul into this, and placed it in front of my family, something I don’t intend to do in the future. I have no regrets, I’m not going anywhere and Saugus will always be my home,” he said.

Moving forward as a board – again

At Wednesday night’s swearing-in ceremony in the second floor auditorium at Saugus Town Hall, it appeared that Cogliano and the other four members on the board who have already served together for four years were focusing on a spirit of collaboration as they begin their third two-year term together.

Newly elected Board of Selectmen Vice Chair Jeffrey V. Cicolini noted “the political climate in Saugus has been a little bit bumpy the last few months.”

But Cicolini then offered a positive outlook on things as the new Board of Selectmen approached the next two years. “Our hearts are in the right spot…We’ll work for the greater good,” Cicolini said.

“Working together for the greater good of this town, I think we can accomplish some amazing things over the next two years,” he added.

When Cogliano got his turn to speak, he thanked the town “for electing me for the eighth time to serve on the board.”

Cogliano said he hopes “to accomplish great things with Town Manager Scott Crabtree.” And he called serving as a Saugus selectman “certainly an honor.”

Cogliano’s demeanor was gracious – humble while pledging to work in a spirit of cooperation with his colleagues. He embraced them with hugs and kind words during the ceremony.

Newly elected Board of Selectmen Chair Panetta sought to convey a positive and cooperative message in her remarks. “Together, we can achieve remarkable things, building on a stronger, more connected community.”

In her remarks, Selectman Corinne R. Riley sought to encourage “those candidates that did not get elected” to “please continue your efforts to improve our town.”

“Saugus needs your time and talent,” Riley said.

Selectman Michael James Serino noted that he, like Cogliano, had just been elected to his eighth term as a selectman, collectively, over the course of his Saugus political career. He echoed some of Riley’s sentiments. “There’s a lot of boards and commissions if you want to get involved in town government,” Serino said.