As reported by the Belmont Patch: the Selectman’s race turned into an unbelievably close race. After the ballots were counted, Planning Board member Andy Rojas came out on top in the race to fill the seat of a retiring Angelo Firenze by just 32 votes – less than 1%, raising the very real prospect of a recount.
The unofficial vote count was Andy Rojas with 2,165 votes (50.29%) and Dan Scharfman with 2,133 (49.55%) – the closest margin in recent memory. The closeness of the final vote raised questions about the possibility of a recount
The race for School Committee, with three candidates vying for two open positions, produced two decisive winners: interim Committee member , who netted 2,894 votes (40.22%) and Pascha Griffiths, a relatively recent addition to town who collected a convincing 2,708 (37.64%). Matt Sullivan finished the evening with 1,588 votes (22.07%).
Assuming the vote in the Selectman’s race stands, this race may come down to money. As Patch reported earlier in the week, Rojas outraised Scharfman by a factor of 2 to 1 – raising $22,935, compared to Scharfman’s $11,000. He outspent him by about the same margin up to the last week of the campaign: $15,376 compared to $6,843.
Stay tuned…and congratulations to all tonight’s winners!