MELROSE — A combination of familiar faces and new blood will be joining forces to help run the city and its schools following Tuesday’s municipal election.
Seamus Kelley won one of the three open spots on the School Committee with an impressive unofficial vote total of 4,875. He will be joined by Matthew Hartman, who finished second in the school board race with 4,326 votes, and incumbent Margaret ER Driscoll.
David Trzepacz finished out of the running, with 2736 votes.
Driscoll, the current School Committee chairman, said, “Warmest congratulations to all who ran for public office, responded to hard questions, debated, and discussed. Everyone on the ballot is a champion. I’m grateful to Melrose voters who have asked me to serve for another four years on the Melrose School Committee. It is an honor and a privilege, and I look forward to listening to community interests and opinions, working with elected and appointed city officials, and continuing the challenging work of collective governing in service to Melrose Public School students and families who are, and always have been, my heart and soul.”
Asked to comment after voting was over, Kelley said, “I would like to thank my family for their support this fall as I campaigned door-to-door across the city. I would also like to thank those who ran for office, those who volunteered with so many candidates, and those who showed up and voted this election season.”
Hartman offered, “I want to congratulate Margaret Driscoll and Seamus Kelley on their election and I look forward to working with them and our new mayor, Jen Grigoraitis. I want to thank Dave Trzepacz, who put so much into this race and I hope we continue to hear his voice. We have a great deal of work to do for our schools, from addressing our budget and identifying our building needs to ensuring our educators have everything they need to do the job we ask them to do. I am excited by the deep investment I found among all those I spoke with while campaigning and I am grateful for the community’s trust in electing me to the Melrose School Committee!”
David Trzepacz commented, “Thank you to all of the great people that I met along the way during this campaign. Although not the outcome that I had hoped for, talking with so many of you reinforced that we have so much common ground that we can build upon. As we move forward in Melrose Schools, please continue to make your voices heard, bring your ideas, and encourage actions that move us forward as one team. Congratulations to Margaret, Matt, and Seamus as they embark on their continued and new journey in the School Committee.”
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In the 10-way race for four at-large seats on the City Council, incumbents Leila Migliorelli and Maya Jamaleddine retained their positions and were joined by Ryan Williams and Ward Hamilton as the top four vote-getters
The election results are detailed on the city’s website.
In other City Council results, Cal M. Finocchiaro will succeed new Mayor Jen Grigoraitis as the city councilor in Ward 6 after edging Barbara R. Travers 655 votes to 599, while incumbent John C. Obremski easily turned back a challenge from J. Michael McCarthy in Ward 2.
All other ward council candidates were unopposed:
They are Manjula N. Karamcheti in Ward 1, Robert E. Stewart in Ward 3, Mark D. Garipay in Ward 4, Kimberly Vandiver in Ward 5 and Devin Romanul in Ward 7.