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HALLERAN MAKES STRONG SHOWING. . . Halleran Vote + Blanks = Highest Percentage . . . DEGEN, SCHULMAN REELECTED Selectmen; CROCKER WINS Water Commissioner Seat;

It was an unusual election this year.

First, it was the combination of a state primary election and a town election.

Second, the polling location for precincts two and three was Prescott School instead of Middle School North, the traditional polling place for many years.

Third, there were unusual circumstances surrounding the two open seats for election to the Board of Selectmen. Officially, the two seats open for election were uncontested and incumbents Josh Degen and Stuart Schulman were assured of reelection.

Unofficially, despite Justin Halleran's withdrawal from the elction, his name still appeared on the ballot and many voters considered the race to be contested. While turnout at the combined election was low, it was not an all-time low as 19 percent (1,486) of registered voters took a town ballot and 20 percent (1,496) of registered voters took a state ballot.

On the town ballot, in the only officially contested race this year, David Crocker won election to a three-year term as water Ccmmissioner. The relatively close race between Crocker and Mark Deuger saw Crocker receive 596 votes to 481 received by Deuger.

For selectmen, the two, three-year positions open for election were officially uncontested when a third candidate Justin Halleran dropped out of the race just prior to Candidates Night on April 9. However, the town ballot had already been printed and Halleran's name still appeared on the ballot.

A significant number of voters cast their vote for Halleran and an equal number of voters didn't cast a vote at all for selectmen. Stuart Schulman was reelected to his position and received 926 votes or 31 percent of the vote. The Halleran vote combined with the number of blanks registered for Selectman, received the highest percentage of the vote.

Josh Degen won reelection to his position and received 885 votes or 30 percent of the vote. Halleran received 528 votes or 18 percent of the vote. There were also 633 blanks and scattered write-ins representing 21 percent of the vote.

Schulman won precincts one and three while Degen won precinct two. Halleran had strong showings in precincts one and two.

All remaining offices for town and school offices were officially uncontested. Leslie Lathrop and John Giger were reelected to their positions on the Groton-Dunstable School Committee and Thomas Steinfeld was elected to a two-year position on the School Committee. Steinfeld won election to Berta Erickson's seat after she resigned for health reasons.

On the state ballot, Groton voters followed statewide trends and elected Edward Markey as Democratic nominee for U. S. Senate and Gabriel Gomez as Republican nominee for U. S. Senate. Markey and Gomez will face each other in a special election on June 25. The winner of the Markey/Gomez race will replace John Kerry as U. S. Senator from Massachusetts. More voters participated in the state primary election than town election. Of the 1,496 voters who took the state ballot, 64 percent took a Democratic ballot and 36 percent took a Republican ballot. On the Democatic ballot, Markey easily won the Groton vote by receiving 669 votes to 278 received by Stephen Lynch. On the Republican ballot, Gomez won the Groton vote by beating out two other candidates, Michael Sullivan and Daniel Winslow. Gomez won 289 votes while Sullivan received 166 and Winslow 78.

Groton Herald

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Office
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