Letterie Elected Council President

James Letterie swept all six precincts to win election as the president of the Winthrop Town Council Tuesday.

Letterie, who has served as Precinct 2 councillor for 16 years, defeated current Council President Philip Boncore in the election. Letterie received 1,807 votes, while Boncore received 1,108 votes.

 Letterie attributed his victory to “hard work, integrity, and honesty.”

Letterie, 61, was a member of the Winthrop Charter Commission from 2003 to 2005. The Commission changed the structure of Winthrop government, notably instituting a Town Council to replace the former Board of Selectmen and bringing aboard a full-time town manager to run the day-to-day operations.

Letterie was elected to the Council in 2005 and has represented Precinct 2 since that time. His diligence and accessibility in his role as a councillor were recognized beyond Precinct 2 and resonated with residents town wide. He has also served commendably as vice president of the Council having been elected by his colleagues.

“I think my hard work over the years and working for the citizens of Winthrop – I don’t do it to build a following, I do it to do what I think is right for Winthrop,” said Letterie.

Letterie began his involvement in Winthrop government when he served as a Town Meeting member. He ran for a seat on the Winthrop Charter Commission and was one of nine residents elected to the board.

Letterie thanked his supporters and his family, including his wife, Dawn, a Winthrop schoolteacher for 35 years, and their children, Jake and Jenna.

“My wife and my son were at the polls for 13 hours Tuesday,” related Letterie. “My daughter, who’s away at college, helped by talking to her friends from Winthrop. They all helped tremendously.”

Letterie said as the new council president, he’s looking forward to getting to work on several important issues.

“I think the first thing we have to do is secure a town manager to lead the town,” said Letterie. “The next most important thing we have to do is stabilize everything we’ve built over the last ten years and make sure we have plans in place to maintain the assets that we’ve built. And I think we have to look at the middle school site and finally get that off the ground. We also have to look at a proposed public safety building.”

Letterie said he will also focus on addressing the traffic situation at the Fort Banks School and the ongoing infrastructure projects in Winthrop Center and on Revere Street.

Wednesday morning Letterie was at Letterie’s Italian Market, a popular business on Woodside Avenue that he has owned and operated for 20 years. Several customers stopped by to congratulate Letterie on his election as town council president.

Belcher wins Precinct 3 election

Hannah Belcher defeated Jeremy Mahoney-Wright in the Precinct 3 Councilor election Tuesday. Belcher received 235 votes while Mahoney-Wright received 128 votes.

“I would like to thank everyone who came out to vote and the people who gave me words of encouragement from outside the precinct,” said Belcher. “I’m looking forward to fulfilling everything I said I would do – being available, being accountable, and really starting to make some positive change for Precinct 3 and the town.”

In a related matter, current Precinct 3 Councilor Nick LoConte resigned from his position Wednesday “so that the new Precinct 3 Councilor can be sworn in early to hit the ground running.”

Richard Fucillo was elected Precinct 1 Councilor Tuesday. Joseph Aiello was elected Precinct 5 Councilor. Both candidates were unopposed.

Councilor-at-Large Robert DeMarco was re-elected to the Council.

Barry, Powell re-elected to School Committee; Leonard also wins a seat on the Committee

Julie Barry and Jennifer Powell were re-elected to the Winthrop School Committee Tuesday. Suzanne Leonard was also elected to the School Committee.

Barry topped the ticket in the field of seven candidates with 1,461 votes. Powell finished second with 1,370 votes. Leonard took third place with 1,134 votes.

Also seeking election were Celeste Heinonen, Layne Petrie, Brianna Molloy, and Ellen Galuris.

Teixeira, Peabody re-elected to Library Trustees; Matarazzo also elected to board

Gillian Teixeira and Betty Peabody were re-elected to the Library Board of Trustees Tuesday. Maria Matarazzo was also elected to the Board.

Teixeira finished first with 1,572 votes. Peabody took second place with 1,435 votes, while Matarazzo was third with 1,274 votes.

Also seeking election were Laura Marie Christopher and Alyssa True.

Former Town Council President Peter Gill was re-elected to a seat on the Winthrop Housing Authority. Gill was unopposed in the election.

Go to page 14 to see a chart of the unofficial election results.