The 2015 town election is in the record books and we congratulate the candidates who emerged victorious and will now prepare to take office in the town.
In the Council President’s race, Robert Driscoll Jr. won a hard-fought victory over Craig Mael, who has served our town so well in his position as Precinct 4 councilor, bringing new and innovative ideas before the Council for discussion. Bob Driscoll brings a lot of managerial experience and carries on the family’s tradition of service to this town, led by his well-known father, Robert Driscoll Sr., whom we admire so much for his work on the Airport Hazards Committee and other town boards. Bob Jr. will succeed Council President Peter Gill, who has been instrumental in the advancement of the town and in his strong support of the new middle-high school project.
Bob Jr. will bring a new perspective to the town’s highest elected position and we wish him well as the leader of the nine-member council.
In the School Committee race, we have to commend Tino Capobianco for the outstanding campaign that he conducted, resulting in a tremendous first-place finish for the former aide to Speaker of the House of Robert A. DeLeo. As a Winthrop High graduate, Tino is very familiar with the Winthrop schools and he will be an asset to the School Committee. Ronald Vecchia also was victorious as the voters recognized his valuable years of experience as a former selectman and long-time community leader. Laura Callis made a successful debut as a candidate for School Committee and she will bring new ideas and energy to her position on the board. It is always great to see new candidates pursuing office in the town.
In an exciting election featuring two outstanding candidates, Precinct 2 Councilor James Letterie was able to hold off the challenge of former town chief financial officer Michael Bertino to win re-election to the Council. Jim has been a very productive councilor who is accessible to his constituents and who has made a positive impact on the residents of his precinct. Michael Bertino ran a strong campaign and we hope he will consider another run for office in the future.
Heather Engman, who was so impressive in her frequent appearances at Council Meetings during the proposed Suffolk Downs casino discussion, was elected to the Precinct 4 Council position, defeating a well-known resident in Paul Carruccio. Heather has shown her dedication to the town with service on the Board of Health and we expect her to be an excellent representative for Precinct 4.
We also offer our congratulations to Richard Honan (who received a huge vote) and Frank Ferrara on their election to the Winthrop Housing Authority, as well as long-time Library Board member Ron Bergman, Thomas Connolly, and Don Sullivan, on their election to the Library Board.
And finally, congratulations to Councillor-at-Large Phil Boncore and Precinct 6 Councilor Linda Calla, who received tremendous votes of support in their unopposed bids for re-election. We know that Phil and Linda will welcome and assist Council President-elect Bob Driscoll and Councilor-elect Heather Engman in their transition to the Council.