WESTHAMPTON – Voters Saturday decided four contested races, re-electing incumbents to the Select Board, Planning Board and Board of Library Trustees.
The only incumbent to lose her seat was Finance Committee member Aniko Giordano.
In all, 197 of the town’s 1,255 registered voters participated in this year’s election, for a turnout rate of nearly 16 percent.
In the race for the Select Board, voters re-elected Arthur L. Pichette, of 174 Laurel Hill Road, for a three-year term, 129-66, over challenger Wayne T. Parks, of 60 Main Road.
“I am very pleased and honored to be re-elected,” said Pichette, who had just finished his first term on the board. “It’s nice to know that the people have put their faith in me for another three years.”
A 35-year resident of Westhampton, Pichette has served on several town panels, including the Zoning Board of Appeals, the School Building Committee and the Board of Health. “Service is important. It is not a job with pay or health benefits or anything like that, but is an important job, especially in these small towns,” he said Saturday.
The Finance Committee race saw five candidates competing for three, three-year seats.
Incumbent Jacqueline Brodeur, of 136 North Road, was easily re-elected, receiving 125 votes, while incumbent Giordano, of 285 Main Road, lost her seat when challenger Stephen Holt, 34 North Road, received 154 votes and Steven Gagne, of 39 Stage Road, received 128 votes.
Giordano received 66 votes.
Bradford K. Morse, of 185 Southampton Road, also lost his bid for the Finance Committee, receiving 65 votes.
Three candidates ran for two, three-year seats on the Planning Board.
Incumbents Thomas Hathaway, of 128 North Road, and Mark T. Schwallie, of 116 Chesterfield Road, were both re-elected, with Hathaway receiving 123 votes and Schwallie 148. Challenger Virginia M. Curtis, of 207 Main Road garnered, 90 votes.
Incumbent Michele J. Nevins, of 63 South Road, was re-elected to her seat on the Board of Library Trustees, 137-40, in two-way race with Celeste E. Whiting, of 100 Laurel Hill Road.
Incumbents seeking re-election who ran unopposed were Dolores Thornhill, of 107 Chesterfield Road, for a three-year term Board of Assessors; RIchard Tracy, of 106 South Road, for one-year term as moderator; and Holt, for a one-year term as tree warden.
Morley C. Cleary, of 31 Southampton Road, was the only candidate running for a one-year term on the Westhampton Elementary School Committee.
Also, Leroy S. Douchkoff, of 103 Montague Road, was elected to a one-year term as constable.