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By Mark E. Vogler
For most of the candidates who ran for public office in the Nov. 4 Town Election, the results posted the next day by the Town Clerk’s Office are official. Those office holders who were elected already have begun serving their two-year terms in Saugus local government. But veteran Town Meeting Member Ronald M. Wallace, who nosed out former Town Meeting Member Karli McConaghy Brazis by just two votes for the fifth and final Town Meeting seat in Precinct 5, won’t know until tomorrow whether he will get to serve a sixth consecutive term on the 50-member body – or watch Brazis return to office.
“I received an email from the Town Clerk saying a recount for Precinct 5 is scheduled for next Saturday (Nov. 22) 8:30 am at Town Hall,” Wallace told The Saugus Advocate this week. “I’m trying to educate myself on the rules and procedures of a recount.”
“Votes have already been counted twice – unofficial on Election Day and posted at Town Hall as official on Nov. 5. So, I’m not expecting any changes,” he said.
The Board of Registrars and the Town Clerk’s Office will assemble tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 22) morning in the second-floor auditorium at Town Hall to oversee a hand recount of all of the ballots cast in Precinct 5 to determine the fifth-place finisher for Town Meeting, according to Town Clerk Ellen Schena.
“A recount petition for Town Meeting Precinct 5 has been submitted and certified. Karli Brazis lost by 2 votes to Ron Wallace and asked for a hand count,” Schena told The Saugus Advocate.
Brazis, who works as a clerk for the Board of Health and who previously served two terms as a Precinct 5 Town Meeting member, said the election results were close enough that she decided to request a recount. “Computers do make mistakes,” said Brazis, who was first elected in 2015 and was reelected to a second term. She put aside plans to run again until this year so she could have time to raise a family.
“It’s nothing personal. It’s just for peace of mind. I just wanted to make sure that there were no mistakes,” Brazis said, explaining her reason for seeking the recount.
The successful recount of 2015
Requests for recounts aren’t uncommon in Saugus or area communities. “I have had many recounts here in Saugus as well as assisted recounts in other communities, Middleton, Georgetown and Gloucester,” Schena said.
But Schena said it’s been rare when a recount actually changed the result in a recent Saugus election. “Just once,” Schena said.
“It was my very first recount in 2015, for Town Meeting,” she said.
Schena was referring to the Town Election of 2015 when nine candidates ran for the five Town Meeting seats in Precinct 8. The seeds for a recount were planted when Arthur Grabowski relinquished his seat to serve on the School Committee after that election. Michael Coller, the sixth-place finisher, appeared ready to fill the vacancy. But Thomas Traverse, who finished in the seventh position – just a vote behind Coller’s 145 total, sought a recount.
A recount produced surprise results. Neither Coller nor Traverse benefited. Coller’s vote total decreased by nine to 136. Traverse stayed at 144 votes. Steve Horlick – the eighth place finisher – jumped from 142 votes to 148 to win the vacant seat in Precinct 8.
The Town Election of 2015 was one of those rare years when an election outcome was overturned by a recount. That was the same year when Wallace and Brazis – a 19-year-old candidate – were elected to their first terms on Town Meeting. Both were reelected in 2017. Brazis decided not to run again – until this year.
Meanwhile, Wallace – who has recorded perfect attendance during his time as a Town Meeting member representing Precinct 5 – was poised to begin his sixth term before Brazis requested a recount.
Long didn’t want a recount
There could have been another recount following the Election Day results. Veteran Town Meeting Member Robert J. Long lost by just two votes to Joseph Nicolas DiFilippo for the fifth seat in Precinct 4.
“I could have requested a recount. A number of people wanted me to do that,” said Long, who has been involved in Saugus local government as an elected official or a volunteer appointed to various boards since 1979.
“Considering the low voter turnout, I figured maybe it’s time to let it go. I really didn’t want to go forward with a recount. The votes are official as posted, as far as I’m concerned. Life goes on,” he said.
From his perspective as a longtime participant in Saugus local government, Long said he doesn’t believe recounts overturn many elections. “I’m sure in a couple of instances, a recount has changed the results,” Long said.
“In most cases, it doesn’t – because of a low voter turnout,” he said.
Long recalled a recount that he and his wife Carol assisted with back in 1981. “Jean Banks finished eight votes behind Janette Fasano in the Board of Selectmen’s race and requested a recount. They had a full townwide recount. Both sides had to lawyer up,” Long said. “It was quite an expensive recount. But in the end, it really didn’t overturn the results. It didn’t really change anything. Most recounts never do.”
THE OFFICIAL RESULTS
Here’s how the candidates for Precinct 5 Town Meeting finished in the Nov. 4 Town Election, based on the results released the next day by the Town Clerk’s Office. An asterisk indicates an incumbent. The top five vote-getters will serve a two-year term (2025-27).
Candidate Total
*Pamela J. Goodwin 246
*Jaclyn Annette Hickman 207
*Mark Stephen Panetta 191
Lori Ann Fauci 186
*Ronald Mark Wallace 184
Karli McConaghy Brazis 182
*Brenton H. Spencer 166
Joshua L. Dellheim 148
