Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Lynn School Committee Results

The results are in! Winning a seat on the Lynn School Committee for 2012 - 2014 are:

Rick Starbard (4,770 votes)
Charlie Gallo (4,666 votes)
Patricia Capano (4,339 votes)
John Ford (4,199 votes)
Donna Coppola (4,100 votes)
Maria Carrasco (3,971 votes)


Admittedly, the results of the Lynn School Committee race were both shocking and slightly unexpected. A bigger issue may be that of voter turnout. In Lynn, there are currently 46,639 registered voters; of that only 10,730 people voted in this year's election. Low voter turnout was predicted as this was a year without a mayoral or presidential election. Still, it is surprising that only 23% of registered voters voted in this election. Some wards saw higher numbers than others as Ward 1 had 36.5% voter turnout. My ward (Ward 4) was the worst with a 15.9% voter turnout rate (915 out of 5,766 potential voters). Living in the Highlands makes me particularly interested in Ward 4, Precinct 1 and Ward 2, Precinct 4. Ward 4, Precinct 1 tied for last place in voter turnout with 12% while Ward 2, Precinct 4 had a 15% voter turnout rate. These are abysmal numbers when compared to Ward 1, Precinct 1 which had a 45% voter turnout rate.

While voter turnout in the Highlands was exceedingly low, there was one candidate who stood out from the rest in this area. Maria Carrasco landed 181 votes from the Highlands alone; the next closet competitor was Patricia Capano with 128 votes. The wards and precincts where the candidates earned the highest votes totals are as follows:

  • Starbard: Ward 1, Precinct 1; Ward 1 Precinct 3; Ward 1, Precinct 4; Ward 2, Precinct 1; Ward 2, Precinct 2; Ward 3, Precinct 1
  • Gallo: Ward 3, Precinct 3; Ward 3, Precinct 4; Ward 5, Precinct 1; Ward 5, Precinct 4; Ward 6, Precinct 1; Ward 6, Precinct 4; Ward 7, Precinct 1; Ward 7, Precinct 4
  • Capano: Ward 3, Precinct 3
  • Ford: Ward 7, Precinct 3
  • Coppola: Ward 4, Precinct 4
  • Carrasco: Ward 2, Precinct 2; Ward 2, Precinct 3; Ward 2, Precinct 4; Ward 3, Precinct 2; Ward 4 Precinct 1; Ward 4, Precinct 2; Ward 4, Precinct 3; Ward 5, Precinct 2; Ward 5, Precinct 3; Ward 6, Precinct 2; Ward 6, Precinct 3
  • Spirito: Ward 1, Precinct 2


While the results were not necessarily as expected, hopefully a competitive election season and the inclusion of one new face on the School Committee will lead to positive changes for the Lynn Public School system.

So how do you feel about the Lynn School Committee election results? Leave a comment and/or fill out the survey below:


No comments:

Post a Comment