Published May 6, 2021
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Voters overwhelmingly returned incumbent Select Board members Stephen J. O’Leary and Kathryn M. Manupelli, and incumbent School Committee members Dyana M. Boutwell and Richard F. McGowan to their respective seats in Tuesday’s annual election in races that had been uncontested until a week prior to election day.
But a lot can unfold in a week’s time, especially when it comes to politics.
It started with a sleepy annual Town Election. With no contested races, a light turnout of a few hundred people was expected to head to the polls on Tuesday, May 4, where COVID protocols would be remaining in place.
But the election was suddenly turned upside down by an overnight write-in campaign that injected partisan politics into the races for Select Board and School Committee after fliers directed at Republican or conservative-leaning households appeared overnight on their doorsteps and in their mailboxes on the evening of April 27.
The week ended with all incumbents being overwhelmingly returned to office and a surprisingly high turnout of 11.4 percent of the town’s electorate (1,326 voters out of 11,639) for a rainy town election when the polls were only open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In the days in between, hundreds of townspeople from both sides of the aisle, most incensed by what they viewed as the fear-mongering and hateful tone of the fliers, were suddenly aware of the election and debating the message being conveyed about the town and its residents on various social media pages and Boston TV stations.
The two residents seeking write-in votes to the Select Board were Jeff Yull and John Barrette. They sought to unseat incumbents Manupelli and O’Leary. Their fliers also sought to influence potential supporters to vote for a write-in candidate for the School Committee, Allison Stringer, as well as incumbent School Committee member Dyana Boutwell. But Boutwell and Stringer disavowed knowledge of these fliers and their names were removed from future fliers used for canvassing over the weekend by Yull and Barrette.
Yull’s and Barrette’s campaign also inspired another resident to launch her own write-in campaign for School Committee. Jodi (Tarr) Cloney tossed her hat into the ring, organizing a whirlwind six-day campaign for the office on a platform of inclusion and advocacy for all students.
Despite the rain on Election Day, dozens of supporters of the incumbents, as well as Cloney, held signs throughout the day at the entrance to parking lot at St. Theresa’s where the town’s voters cast their ballots at the parish hall.
For the Select Board, O’Leary garnered 1,042 votes while Manupelli had 958. O’Leary has been elected to this post nine times since 1988. He lost one race back in 1991 and stepped down for part of one term in the early 2000s. Manupelli begins her third three-year term. Yull polled 175 votes. and Barrette got 163. There were 291 blanks cast plus another 23 write-ins for other candidates.
In a letter to the editor published in today’s Transcript, O’Leary stated in part: “Mr. Yull totally misjudged the decent and caring people of this community. He misled us to believe that his chosen few agreed with his messaging, when in reality, he never asked their permission or opinion on that message. Candidates included in Mr. Yull’s flyer, especially Dyana Boutwell, were unfairly judged and maligned for actions and words that belonged to Mr. Yull only. I, for one, jumped to early and wrong conclusions based on false assumptions. Nobody deserves to be treated like that.”
“Our local elections are non-partisan, not Democrat, Republican or Pizza Party members, just neighborhood volunteers who attempt to work together to keep North Reading a wonderful community to live in and raise a family. Mr. Yull’s attempt to inject partisan politics failed miserably,” O’Leary added.
Yull and Barrette were not present at the polls when the unofficial results were read to a crowd of about 30 people by the town’s election workers at 7:40 p.m. Afterwards, the poll workers returned to the hall to manually count ballots and ascertain that every write-in vote was accounted for prior to recording the official tally. Town Clerk Barbara Stats posted the results to the town’s website at midnight.
School Committee results
In the School Committee race, Boutwell topped the ticket with 959 votes while McGowan got 959. Both now begin their second three-year terms. Cloney polled 255 votes and Stringer had 186. There were 339 blanks, and 18 write-ins for other candidates.
“It was great to see so many head out to the polls today,” Dyana Boutwell told the Transcript after her successful re-election bid. She added, “I appreciate all of the support and I’m thankful for the continued opportunity to serve on the School Committee.”
“I would like to thank North Reading residents for their support and for turning out in such strong numbers for yesterday’s election,” School Committee member Rich McGowan told the Transcript on Wednesday morning following his successful re-election. “I congratulate Dyana Boutwell on a well-deserved victory, and I look forward to the next three years working with Dyana and the rest of the School Committee to ensure the best education possible for all of North Reading’s children.”
McGowan added, “Thanks also to all the candidates who stepped up and ran publicly for all of these important offices. North Reading needs people who are willing to engage on the issues facing the town.”
CPC and Town Moderator results
In the other offices on the ballot, incumbent Community Planning Commissioners Ryan J. Carroll (988) and Jeremiah C. Johnston (861) ran unopposed for their three-year terms. Carroll is beginning his second three-year term. Johnston was elected to his first three-year term. He was appointed to a vacancy on the board on March 1. There were 782 blanks and 21 write-ins.
Town Moderator John J. Murphy also ran unopposed and won his 17th consecutive one-year term with 1,067 votes. There were 240 blanks and 19 write-ins.
