In one of the tightest elections in recent years, Paul Bunker and Roger Woods won seats on the Abington Select Board at Saturday’s Annual Town Elections.
Bunker, the current Conservation Commission Chairman, was the top vote-getter in the three-way race, earning 991 votes. Woods, a former selectman, eeked out the race for the second seat, defeating incumbent Tim Chapin by just 10 votes, 914 – 904.
Bunker, who was making his first run for elected office, said he was “pleasantly surprised” by the victory.
“It was a learning experience,” he said. “I had a lot of help from former selectmen and other people who had run for other boards. And it showed.”
Woods, who served two terms on be board in the 90s, thanked the town’s voters, as well as Chapin, who was unsuccessful in his quest for a third term.
“I look forward to working with the board on the serious issues that we face as a town over the next three years,” he said.
Chapin’s tenure included a global pandemic, a new Town Manager, improved town finances, and a successful override vote for a new fire station and DPW complex.
“First all, congratulations to Paul and Roger. They ran great races and will be great Selectmen. I am not worried about the future of Abington,” Chapin told Abington News. “Also, I will sleep very well tonight knowing that the Town of Abington is better now than it was six years ago. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done over the past six years. That can’t be undone. I am not going anywhere, I will continue to do whatever I can to keep Abington moving forward.”
Between early voting, absentee ballots, and those who turned out on Saturday, 1,658 residents voted in this year’s Town Election — or about 17% of the town’s registered voters. The turnout was actually the highest for an Annual Town Election going back at least 5 years despite the lack of any other competitive races on the ballot.
Pam Neely was officially elected to the School Committee, along with Heidi Hernandez who won a second term. Mary Gillis, Gail Bergin, and Henry DiCarlo were each reelected to the Library Board of Trustees. John Manning was elected to fill an unexpired 2-year term on the Board of Water Commissioners, and William Cormier won a three-year term. Ellen Delany won another term on the Housing Authority, and Rick Collins won a third term on the Planning Board.
There were no candidates for two seats on the Board of Health, a seat on the Board of Assessors, and a seat on the Board of Sewer Commissioners. The Select Board will hold joint meetings with those three boards in the coming weeks to appoint residents to fill those openings.
The 10-vote difference between Woods and Chapin is the smallest margin of victory in recent years also. In 2022, Richard Shepherd defeated Michelle Kearney by 30 votes for a Planning Board seat.
The results for Saturday’s election weren’t available for a couple hours after the polls closed. Town Clerk Leanne Adams said her office received 30 mail-in ballots Friday and had to count them by hand after the initial results were posted.
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