Easton Voters Re-Elect Murphy and Corona

The results are in and Easton's Board of Selectmen will stay the same for at least another year.

Incumbents and both retained their three-year Board of Selectmen seats in Monday night's town elections. The incumbents defeated challengers and .

"I’m thrilled," said Board of Selectmen Chair Colleen Corona, who has been on the Board since 2003. "I love the job and I’m looking forward to serving for another three years. It was a lot of work. The race is a lot of work and its very nerve-racking, but I’m glad it’s over and I’m glad to be working with Dan."

1,541 Easton residents (10 percent of registered voters) came out to vote at Oliver Ames High School, ousting last year's total of 886.

Corona received 931 votes (60 percent), Murphy received 785 (51 percent), Goodman received 569 (37 percent) and Maloney received 500 (23 percent).

Both Corona and Murphy said they were happy to keep their current board together.

"I’m really happy for Colleen," said Murphy. "She got the most votes and she deserves it. She’s the hardest worker in town. I’m really happy for her. Secondly, I’m glad that our Board is staying together for another year. I think we work really well together. I think we've done a lot and I think we will continue to work well together. I’m happy about that."

Murphy, who took part in the unanimous decision by Selectmen to, said he was unhappy with the way the subject became an issue of contention in the race.

"I think it was unnecessarily political," he said. "I don’t think it belonged. I never said this during the campaign but being called ‘anti-veteran’ sort of offends me. My brother, who is an Iraqi Vet was holding a sign today. My father-in-law, who is a Vietnam Vet, was holding a sign today and my father who is an Army Vet was holding a sign today. I’m not the least bit anti-Veteran and the fact that it was portrayed that way was offensive and it really bothered me."

Now in his second term with the Board of Selectmen, in the 11th Plymouth District, but he is not ready to decide if he wants to throw his hat in the ring. The deadline to collect 150 signatures for the position is May 1 while the deadline to accept a nomination and turn in signatures to the Secretary of State is May 31.

Regardless on whether or not he runs for State Rep as a Republican, Murphy said he will remain a Selectman in Easton. In Massachusetts, residents can serve in both roles.

"You have until May 31 to turn signatures in to the Secretary of State to get into the race," he said. "I think we’ll do what we’ve got to do to keep our options open but this [Selectmen election] was really important to me and I’m really glad I won this one."

Goodman, who fell short Monday by 216 votes, said that he was able to convey his message during the political process.

"My point was that the thing was screwed up," Goodman said. "[We need to] make some changes. I came aweful close and Maloney came close. If everything was going smooth it wouldn’t have been that close.

"It was a good turnout. It was a better turnout than we normally have. Those people came out for some reason."

Maloney offered his congratulations to the winners.

"Congratulations and all my best to Colleen and Dan," he said in a statement.  "They ran a great race.  The learning curve during the course of this election was a sharp one.  A key take-away for me was that despite disagreeing on some topics, it was clear from the start that everyone had the best interest of Easton at heart.  I look forward to serving Easton in the future."

The voters also cast their votes for other positions Monday. Five candidates won uncontested races.

Walter Galas was elected as the Town Moderator. Scott Timulty was elected to the Board of Assessors. Jennifer Nichols was elected to the Board of Health. Dennis Sheedy was elected to the Housing Authority and Colleen Less was elected to the School Committee.

In addition, write-in candidates were elected to the Finance Committee.

Robert Mielde was elected as a write-in to a one-year FinCom seat. He was also elected as a write-in to a three-year FinCom seat along with Ben Hampton and Scott Mclennan.

Town Clerk Jeremy Gillis said Mielde will have his choice betwen the one-year or the three-year seat. The seat he does not accept will be left vacant and someone will be appointed to the position.

For a detailed look at the final numbers, click on the attached .pdf provided by Town Clerk Jeremy Gillis.