Two challengers won School Committee seats in local elections Tuesday. And the selectmen's race had no incumbents, so the two winners are new faces.  But one of this year's winners in the selectmen's race was an incumbent who lost last year — Matt Strauss. This time around he was the leading vote getter among all candidates in contested races, tallying 1,676 votes. The difference? He worked the campaign trail, knocking on doors — about 600 of them — and talking with residents, said Strauss. He was in high spirits at Town Hall.  "(2012) I didn't work hard enough," he said. He learned his …

  A 28 percent voter turnout in Tuesday's elections was a good number. By comparison, the turnout for local elections in 2012 was 21 percent and 18 percent in 2011. Town Clerk Susan Duplin and Assistant Town Clerk Connie Hayes attributed this year's increased activity to dual elections — voters cast special primary and local election ballots — the fine sunny day and contested local races. The 28 percent figure was right in line with the town clerk's prediction, too. A day before the election she said that, if she had to guess the turnout, she would put it at 25 to 30 percent. For the complete…

Registered Voters 1585 1647 1554 1682 1668 1783 9919 DEMOCRATIC Precinct 1 Precinct 2 Precinct 3 Precinct 4 Precinct 5 Precinct 6 Total SENATOR IN CONGRESS                 Blanks   1 0 0 2 0 0 3 STEPHEN F. LYNCH   101 148 105 153 107 105 719 EDWARD J. MARKEY   192 233 153 302 190 268 1338 Write-Ins/All Others   1 0 2 1 1 1 6 TOTAL   295 381 260 458 298 374 2066 REPUBLICAN               SENATOR IN CONGRESS                 Blanks   1 0 0 0 0 0 1 GABRIEL E. GOMEZ   45 62 48 86 55 89 385 MICHAEL J. SULLIVAN   26 31 32 34 47 33 203 DANIEL B. WINSLOW 14 19 8 24 25 14 104 Write-Ins/All Others   1 1…

8:56 p.m.: Here are your unofficial results for Board of Selectmen and School Committee. 1:30 p.m.: At about 1:30 p.m., the voter turnout at Precincts 3 and 4 at First Church Swampscott, Congregational, was surprisingly high, said Prec. 4 Warden Theresa Grasso. Four hundred and ninety-five people had cast ballots already at Prec. 4, and 316 at Prec. 3. Clerk Kay Grasso said, by comparison, Prec. 4 had only 138 votes cast in the entire local election n 2009. She thought the combined US Senate primary/local election may have accounted for the good showing. Outside, Michael Patriarca of …

  Town Clerk Susan Duplin reports that her office will remain open on Tuesday, Feb. 19, until 8 pm exclusively for pulling or handing in nomination papers.  As it stood on Feb 12, there was only one office, School Committee, that appeared headed toward a competitive race.  Three candidates have pulled nomination papers for the two open seats on the committee. Incumbents Larry Beaupre and Jaren Landen have pulled papers. Amy O'Connor has also pulled nomination papers.  The extra hours are for those who cannot make it to Town Hall during regular business hours. Nomination papers must be …

  Town Clerk Susan Duplin announced that nomination papers for elected offices are available in the clerk's office starting today, Jan. 14. See the the list for deadlines below in the election schedule.  Candidates for elected office need 50 townwide certified signatures to appear on the ballot, the clerk said.  There are 108 Town Meeting seats up for re-election (18 per precinct for a 3-year term) plus one vacancy in Precinct 5, for a 2-year term, due to Veeder Nellis’ death.  Candidates need 10 certified signatures in their respective precincts to be on the ballot. Town Election Schedule  …

  No mystery, here. Larry Beaupre and Jaren Landen revealed election intentions early. Each will seek re-election in 2013 to three-year terms on the Swampscott School Committee. Both the chairman, Beaupre, and the vice chairman, Landen, said on Wednesday that a consistent and stable School Committee contributes to students' academic performance. The incumbents' seats are the only ones up for re-election on the five-member board. Marianne Hartmann's and Richard Kraft's terms end in 2014. And Ted Delano's term ends in 2015. Candidates for town and school races must pull nomination papers to …

Courtesy of Town Clerk Susan Duplin. The turnout was 21 percent. Total Registered Voters 1592 1690 1628 1715 1703 1807 10, 135     Prec.1 Prec.2 Prec.3 Prec.4 Prec.5 Prec.6 Totals Moderator               Blanks   93 145 84 157 138 135 752 JOSEPH MARKARIAN, JR 187 280 162 278 207 253 1367 Write-Ins/All Others 3 3 2 10 10 2 30 Total   283 428 248 445 355 390 2149 Board of Selectmen               Blanks   16 25 18 18 15 12 104 MATTHEW W. STRAUSS 123 222 93 189 148 206 981 GLENN KESSLER 143 180 136 237 191 171 1058 Write-Ins/All Others 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 Total   283 428 248 445 355 390 2149 Board of …

  Tuesday, April 24, is the big day for local pols. It's the town's Election Day, and there are competitive races on the ballot. Last year, in 2011, 18 percent of the town's registered voters came out and voted in the town election, the town clerk said at the time. On Tuesday, voters will go to the town's six precincts between 7 am and 8 pm to cast ballots. Voting on warrant articles will take place in two weeks, on May 7, when town meeting members will vote on them. Tuesday, April 24, is all about the public voting for candidates for local offices including their town meeting representatives…

  There's one seat up for election on the Board of Health April 24, and it's for three years. The candidates: incumbent Nelson Kessler and challengers Olaf Faeskorn and Deborah Shelkan Remis. We asked each candidate the same five questions in this Q&A. Nelson Kessler 1) Biographical: Please tell our readers in 40 words or less who you are. This can include anything you want such as family, occupation, experience, residence, education, age etc. I’m a Board of Health member since 1996.  I have devoted many years serving the Town as Co-Chairman of the Conservation Committee, past Chairman of the…

  Board of Selectmen Chairman Matt Strauss on Wednesday responded to criticism that he overstepped his authority earlier this year by restricting public comment at a hearing on Harbormaster Larry Bithell's job performance. Strauss said he has been criticized by those including Glenn Kessler, his opponent in the April 24, town election, for not allowing the public to speak at the Feb. 1, hearing. The hearing was held in public, at the request of the harbormaster. There was a large crowd. The chairman said his decision was based on the desire for the hearing to proceed in an orderly fashion. "…

    Glenn Kessler, Ted Delano and Deborah Shelkan Remis all won election in their respective elections today. Kessler defeated incumbent Matt Strauss, 1,058 to 981, to win a seat on the Board of Selectmen. Ted Delano defeated Jackie Kinney, 1246-768, to win a seat on the School Committee. Deborah Shelkan Remis defeated incumbent Nelson Kessler and challenger Olaf Faeskorn, 787-646-526. Town Clerk Susan Duplin said voter turnout was 21 percent or three percentage points higher than last year's turnout in the town election. Patch will have complete coverage with candidate comments and precinct …

  The lone open School Committee seat up for election this spring is for a three-year term. The candidates are incumbent Jackie Kinney and challenger Ted Delano. We asked each candidate the same five questions. Jacqueline "Jackie" Kinney 1) Biographical: Please tell our readers in 40 words or less who you are. This can include anything you want such as family, occupation, experience, residence, education, age etc. I’m 47 years old, and a graduate of Brockton High School and Framingham State College. 13 years ago I decided to get married, put down roots and raise my family in Swampscott – one …

  This information was supplied by Town Clerk Sue Duplin.  The Swampscott Town Clerk’s Office in Town Hall, 22 Monument Ave. has the local election absentee ballots.   You may vote absentee ballot if your absent from the town on Election Day, have a physical disability that prevents you from voting at your polling location or due to religious beliefs. You can make your application and cast your vote in one visit to the Clerk’s Office or request the ballot be mailed to you.  If you wish to vote by mail, file your application early.  The absentee ballot application deadline is no later than …

  The Swampscott Town Clerk’s Office at Town Hall, 22 Monument Ave., will remain open until 8 pm on Wednesday, April 4 — the deadline to register to vote on April 24, in the local election. "Anyone wishing to vote in the upcoming April 24,  Local Election must register to vote by this deadline," said Susan Duplin, Swampscott town clerk. Registration may be done in person in the Clerk’s Office or by mail-in.   In order to qualify for voter registration you must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Massachusetts, 18 years old on or before Election Day and not currently incarcerated for a felony …

  This article was submitted by Kathy Cormier of the League of Women Voters. The Swampscott League of Women Voters will host a Candidates' Forum on Monday, April 2, 2012 at 7 pm at Swampscott High School in the large instruction room, adjacent to the auditorium. The public will have the opportunity to meet candidates in the three contested races — Selectmen, School Committee, and Board of Health.   These contested races, all for a single seat, consist of the following candidates — Selectmen: Glenn Kessler and Matt Strauss; School Committee: Ted Delano and Jacqueline Kinney; and Board of …

  Information for this article was courtesy of Town Clerk Sue Duplin, who provided it while getting ready for two elections. Thanks, Sue. Now three candidates have pulled nomination papers for the open seat on the Board of Selectmen, and two have picked up papers and returned them for the seat on the School Committee. Both incumbents in those elections appear headed toward contested races.  Incumbent Matt Strauss and Charles Patsios and Glenn Kessler have pulled papers for the open 3-year seat on the Board of Selectmen. The chairman is the only candidate to date who has returned nomination …

        The turnout, town-wide, in the April 26, election was 18 percent, according to Town Clerk Sue Duplin. Here are unofficial results released by the town clerk. School Committee School Committee Prec. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Marianne Speranza-Hartmann 182 182 168 238 168 212 1,150 Stephanie Greenfield 49 44 40 47 73 71 324 Rick Kraft 82 97 143 180 101 109 712 David Matela 55 55 61 146 102 100 519 TotalRegistered Voters 1,876 1,374 1,591 1,679 1,659 1,778 9,957 Selectmen  Prec. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Total Blanks 235 218 242 336 266 282 1,579 Jill Sullivan 137 165 174 243 169 209 1,097 Barry Greenfield …

Selectmen breathed a huge sigh of relief at Town Hall Tuesday night when they finally learned that the proposed $3.35 million bond to help build a police station succeeded. Twenty-seven votes was the margin, 885-858, according to the unofficial results. The drama played out until the very end. Results from precincts were taped to a glass case in the hallway, one precinct at a time, as they arrived. The results were tabulated and announced at the town's voting precincts. Police officers then toted bins with the voting results to Town Hall. "Huge relief," said Selectman Matt Strauss, after …

Marianne-Speranza-Hartmann gladly bids the campaign goodbye, especially the self-promotion part of it. "Thank God it is over," she said, shortly after election results were posted at Town Hall Tuesday. "I'm thrilled and can't wait to start working," she said. Speranza-Hartmann, a school nurse who grew up in Swampscott, was the leading vote getter among the candidates tallying 1,150 votes. Rick Kraft came in second with 712 votes. Kraft said during the campaign that the district is on the right path to improve education. Candidate David Matela came in third in balloting, receiving 519 votes. …