ATKINSON — William Bennett beat write-in candidate Valerie Tobin by a large margin for a seat on the Board of Selectmen in yesterday's town election.Bennett received 1,031 votes for the three-year term to Tobin's 358 votes.
Leon Artus dropped out of the race two weeks ago, but his name still appeared on the ballot and he received 146 votes.
Bennett said he was happy with the results because Tobin was a tough competitor despite entering the race late.
"She put a lot of bang into that run," Bennett said.This was Tobin's third run for the seat, and some residents said they admired her positions.
Resident Jim O'Neill said the biggest reason he voted yesterday was to support Tobin.
"She represents a difference from the way the Board of Selectmen are doing things now," O'Neill said as he left the Atkinson Community Center yesterday afternoon.
Of the five contested races, three incumbents held onto their seats.
Incumbent Road Agent Ted Stewart was re-elected to another two-year term, beating challengers Rick Picone and Neil Hamel.
Even though Stewart has been head of the town's highway department for 17 years, he said elections are always difficult.
"Going up for re-election, you never get used to it because you have so much to lose," Stewart said. "It's my livelihood, now I can have health insurance for my family."
Incumbent Town Clerk Rose Cavalear earned 993 votes to Patti Mangini's 731 votes for the town clerk position. Cavalear was appointed by selectmen a year ago after Linda Jette resigned. But Mangini also has experience in the clerk's office. She worked under Jette as deputy town clerk for three years.
Resident John Valvanis said he supported Mangini because of her previous experience and volunteer work in town.
"I know her from when she worked in Town Hall before and I think she'll do a good job," Valvanis said.Incumbent Tax Collector Debra DeSimone also beat her challenger, Sharon Boyle, by 594 votes.
There were no candidates listed on the ballot for the Conflict of Interest Committee but Joyce LaFrance won the seat with 58 write-in votes. About 31 percent of registered voters cast ballots yesterday and approved most warrant articles, including all of the zoning articles, a $4.1 million operating budget, and a petition article to post tax information on the town Web site.
But there were several warrant articles that failed, including a three-year union contract for police officers and a $25,000 request for the town's recreation fund.
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