SAUGUS Daylight Savings Ti me Ends - Fall Back One Hour Satu rday Night! OC C Vol. 24, No. 44 -FREEwww.advocatenews.net for incumbents A great year Saugus voters decide to keep most of their top elected leaders in 2021 Town Election By Mark E. Vogler his was an election where incumbent office holders seemed to have a decided edge – a complete reversal from two years ago. In Tuesday’s election, voters reelected 10 of the 11 candidates who ran town-wide campaigns: • Despite facing fi ve challengT ers, all fi ve selectmen held onto their seats by comfortable margins. Anthony W. Cogliano, Sr. fi nished as the top vote-getter for the second straight election, claiming the honor to serve as board chair for two more years. • Four of the fi ve School Committee members, who replaced the incumbent committee members two years ago, won another term. Only Committee Member Arthur Grabowski failed to get reelected, fi nishing last in a fi eld of seven candidates – 429 votes behind his nearest competitor. • Veteran Housing Authority Chair William B. Stewart beat his nearest opponent by 384 votes in a three-way race to win his third four-year term. Thirty-eight of the 41 incumbent Town Meeting members won reelection in their respective races in the 10 precincts. There will be 12 new Town Meeting members joining the 50-member body after this week’s biennial town election. Only 4,042 of the town’s 20,362 registered voters – 19.85 percent – turned out for this week’s election. Just two years ago, voters decided they wanted a completely new School Committee while replacing three of the fi ve selectmen in an election which reflected an anti-incumbent atmosphere. But this year, voters seemed to embrace the incumbent offi ce holders in most instances. With the COVID-19 pandemic overlapping the previous two-year term of the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee, the town faced some major challenges. And there seemed to be a preference to maintain continuity in local government. “I’m really thrilled to have the same board return,” Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree told selectmen at a brief organizational meeting on Wednesday (Nov. 3) night, following the swearing-in ceremony. Crabtree noted that a turnover in elected town leaders can slow down the process of local government. In some cases, the manager has to spend time training new selectmen, Published Every Friday but with an experienced board, there’s more continuity in government. The manager doesn’t have to spend time training new selectmen on various projects. The current board has already gone through a learning curve and is in a better position to proceed on projects. “I really think there’s a lot we can do,” Crabtree said. Cogliano agreed with the town manager that the current board is better positioned to tackle important projects. “We shouldn’t miss a beat,” Cogliano said. INCUMBENTS | SEE PAGE 14 Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree at swearing in ceremony for Board of Selectmen this week. Selectmen recently gave him a good evaluation. See story on page 11. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) ANGELO’S FULL SERVICE Regular Unleaded $3.259 Mid Unleaded $3.299 Super $3.419 Diesel Fuel $3.449 "43 Years of Excellence!" 1978-2021 KERO $3.81 DEF $3.49 9 Diesel $3.039 9 HEATING OIL 24-Hour Burner Service Call for Current Price! (125—gallon minimum) DEF Available by Pump! Open an account and order online at: www.angelosoil.com (781) 231-3500 (781) 231-3003 367 LINCOLN AVE • SAUGUS • OPEN 7 DAYS D O TE CAT 781-233-4446 Friday, November 5, 2021 Two More Years Together BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND: Saugus voters decided at Tuesday’s (Nov. 2) biennial town election that they want the same Board of Selectmen presiding at Town Hall for the next two years. Pictured from left to right, getting sworn in on Wednesday by Town Clerk Ellen Schena, are Selectmen Debra C. Panetta, Anthony W. Cogliano, Sr., Jeff rey V. Cicolini, Corinne R. Riley and Michael J. Serino. After fi nishing as the top vote-getter for the second straight town election, the board elected Cogliano to again chair the board. Selectmen also decided by unanimous vote that Panetta, with the second most votes, will be the vice-chair. (Saugus Advocate photo by Mark E. Vogler) Happy To Be Working With This Board Prices subject to change Fill Up & Save! Fall is Coming! FLEET
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