Staff Report
With one exception, it was a good night for the incumbents in the municipal election on Tuesday.
The lone race that saw a challenger top the incumbent on the ballot was the District 2 city council race, where Deron Hines topped Melinda Vega by a tally of 206-147 votes.
Hines has said his campaign was focused on connecting Chelsea residents with City Hall and informing them of the decision making that impacts their daily lives through government transparency, youth mentorship, and housing protections.
In the at-large council contest, the three incumbents were returned to office for the three seats by a comfortable margin over two challengers.
Roberto Jimenez-Rivera topped the ballot with 1,146 votes, followed by Kelly Garcia with 1,081, and the dean of the council, Leo Robinson, with 1,040. Yessenia Alfaro and Nicholas Gregoretti finished out of the running with 631 and 593 votes respectively.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to our beloved community of Chelsea for your trust, support, and belief in me,” said Garcia.”Thank you to the more than 1,000 residents who came out, voted, and showed their love throughout this campaign.Every conversation at the doors, every wave, every word of support reminded me why I love serving this city.
“I’m honored to continue representing you as your City Councilor-at-Large and committed to working every day to move Chelsea forward, together. ¡Muchísimas gracias Chelsea!”
In District 1, incumbent Councilor Todd Taylor defeated Christian DeJesus Franco by a margin of 253-139.
In District 4, incumbent Councilor Tanairi Garcia topped Marnie MacAlpine, 177-137.
In the closest contest of the night in District 8, unofficial results showed incumbent Councilor Calvin T. Brown, who is not a stranger to close council races, defeating Marceza Kotoni, 251-245.
District 3 Councilor Norieliz DeJesus, District 5 Councilor Lisa Santagate, District 6 Councilor Giovanni Recupero, and District 7 Councilor Manuel Teshe all ran unopposed and were returned to office.
There were two contested school committee races, with the incumbents winning in both.
In District 1, Shawn O’Regan defeated Hugo Perdomo by a margin of 189-171. In District 3, Jonathan Gomez-Pereira defeated Katherine Palencia, 137-83.
Incumbent candidates who ran unopposed for school committee and were reelected included Katherine Cabral, Sarah Neville, Mayra Balderas, Claryangeliz Covas Caraballo, Ana Hernandez, and Lucia Henriquez. In District 8, Jacob Small ran unopposed and won the seat currently held by Alfaro, who ran for an at-large council seat.