Posted on 11/08/2005 7:13:11 PM PST by LdSentinal
Manchester — Ward 3 alderman Frank Guinta has upset Manchester Mayor Robert Baines in the city’s mayoral contest, election results show.
With all 12 of the city’s wards reporting, Guinta received 10,115 votes while Baines, the city’s three-term mayor, received 9,579 votes, according to unofficial results. The Republican alderman beat the Democrat mayor in a surprising victory, and Baines has conceded defeat.
Voters in Laconia, for their part, enacted a city tax cap by a 1842-1708 margin. The cap will limit the Laconia city council from increasing the budget by more than the federal Consumer Price Index. Matt Lahey was elected Laconia’s new mayor, receiving 2,255 votes compared to Roland Maheu’s 1,438.
In other Manchester news, six-term Ward 4 alderman Mary Sysyn lost to challenger Jerome Duval in a rematch of the 2003 election. Incumbent Ward 6 alderman Paul Porter lost to his challenger, former Ward 6 alderman Real Pinard, in an exceedingly close race. Pinard received 943 votes, Porter received 934. That contest was also a rematch of the 2003 race, when Porter defeated Pinard.
Also, former Ward 3 alderman Joseph Kelly Levasseur failed in his comeback bid, with labor leader Pat Long beating Levasseur for Guinta’s downtown ward seat. Long received 514 votes to Levasseur’s 444.
Ward 1 alderman Mark Roy was re-elected. Ward 8 alderman Betsi DeVries and Ward 9 alderman Michael Garrity both handily won re-election. Ward 11 alderman Henry "Hank" Thibault won narrowly, beating Jason Cooper by a 527-513 margin. In Ward 12, incumbent alderman Armand Forest narrowly won re-election over former alderman Keith Hirschmann.
At-large aldermen Michael Lopez and Daniel O’Neil were re-elected.
In Manchester school board news, at-large school board member Thomas Donovan lost his seat on that panel. Kathleen Kelley, the board’s other at-large member, kept her seat. Taking Donovan’s place will be Debra Gagnon Langton, a sixth-grade teacher in Litchfield.
Langton’s husband, incumbent Ward 2 school board member Michael Langton, lost to former school board member Bob Leonard. In Ward 5’s school board race, incumbent Katherine Labanaris beat challenger Cathryn Vaughn. Ward 1 school board member Leslee Stewart won re-election, as did Ward 3 school board member Carol Scott, Ward 4 school board member Chris Herbert and Ward 10 school board member Marc Cote. In Ward 6, former alderman Donna Soucy defeated Christine Infantine for the ward’s school board seat.
In Ward 12’s school board race, challenger Kelleigh Domaingue defeated incumbent B.J. Perry. Domaingue is the daughter of former alderman Jacquelyn Domaingue and Edward C. Domaingue, the New Hampshire Union Leader’s managing editor for news.
Manchester residents also voted on three ballot questions. They rejected a non-binding question about raising the mayor’s pay. They approved a ban on municipal office-holders moving into city jobs until after their terms in office have ended. And they narrowly approved improving retiree benefits for city workers.
Manchester also sent another Democrat to Concord in a special election for a House seat in the city’s Ward 3. Democrat Jean J. Jeudy defeated Republican Robert Fremeau for the seat, by a 508-322 margin. The seat became open after the resignation of William Clayton, a Democrat, who had moved away from the district.
In the city of Berlin, where there was just one contested race, just 13 percent of voters turned out to vote. Ward 2 Councilor Richard LaFleur won re-election, defeating David Thompson, 222-27. Berlin Mayor Robert Danderson won his fourth term, receiving 685 votes.
In Somersworth, Michael Watman will succeed long-time Mayor Jim McLin, who did not stand for re-election. Watman defeated Roger Gagne, receiving 1,093 votes to Gagne’s 652. Sherie Rae Dinger, Arvid "Jim" Wiggin, Brian Tapscott and Dana Hilliard won seats on Somersworth’s City Council.
In Laconia’s Ward 1, Brad Fitzgerald narrowly beat incumbent Judith Krahulec, 422-418. In Ward 2, incumbent Robert Luther defeated Harry Accornero, 272-108. In Ward 3, Henry Lipman beat Barry Laughton Jr., 480-108. In Ward 4, Brenda Baer beat Mike Verhoeks, 291-277. In Ward 5, Robert Hamel beat Dianne Roberts, 258-198. In Ward 6, incumbent Armand Bolduc beat Joseph Cormier, 395-369. Cormier verbally requested a recount.
Ann Kaligian, Laconia’s city clerk, said about 38 percent of the electorate — some 3,600 voters — turned out to the polls. That’s compared to 26 percent in the 2003 election, Kaligian said.
In Dover’s Ward 3, tax reformer David Scott beat incumbent Matt Mayberry, 567-417. Dennis Ciotti defeated incumbent Jason Hindle, 2,130-2,031, for an at-large council seat. In Ward 1, incumbent Robert Keays won. Catherine Cheney held on to her Ward 5 council seat. Harvey Turner won in Ward 6.
In Keene, Mayor Michael E.J. Blastos won a third term in office. He was unopposed. Eleven percent of Keene’s voters turned out for the race. In Keene’s Ward 2, Paula Philips beat Frank Beaupre, 210-138.
Ten candidates vied for the five at-large city council seats, which have two-year terms. Incumbent Frederick B. Parsells had the most votes, with 1,097. The other seats were won by incumbent Dale Pregent, Angelo DiBernardi, Jr., who relinquished his Ward 1 seat; newcomer Ruth R.Venezia, and newcomer James Duffy.
The Republican alderman beat the Democrat mayor in a surprising victory,
AND FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE [Andrew Cline, Union Leader]
Hey Kathryn, looking at those Va. returns, I thought this might perk up the Corner folks tonight.
The three-term Democratic mayor of Manchester, N.H. lost to a weak Republican challenger tonight, just three days after John Kerry made a stop in town expressly to campaign for the incumbent. The difference -- 536 votes. Mayor Bob Baines was a key Kerry supporter during last year's New Hampshire Primary, and Kerry returned the favor on Saturday, stumping for Baines at a well-publicized event. Joe Biden and Evan Bayh also campaigned for Baines in Manchester, a Democratic stronghold in New Hampshire. Baines lost to alderman Frank Guinta, a former staffer for U.S. Rep. Jeb Bradley. Guinta ran almost entirely on a platform of cutting taxes. Baines has been cavalier about tax increases, and after six years apparently Manchester residents have had enough. The Guinta victory gives Manchester a Republican mayor for the first time in six years and is another indicator that southern New Hampshire, where all those Massachusetts ex-pats live, is trending more solidly Republican and anti-tax.
>>>>Wait a GOPer that stood for something and won?? Shocking.
An Alderman vs. NJ and VT voting for Dem Governors...
I hear that a GOP endorsed dogcatcher won in Oaks Willow, WI. ;-)
A bright spot for us tonight and a VERY important NH victory.
An Alderman vs. NJ and VT voting for Dem Governors...
The reason why this is a significant Republican victory is that several Democrat big-wigs were campaigning in Manchester for the losing 3-term incumbent a couple of days ago. Joe Biden and John F'n Kerry worked their magic again! Losers!! Talk about being rejected - they couldn't get a dog-catcher elected!
This is a big deal. People were talking about Baines as a congressional candidate.
Maybe Baines will finally get a job in the private sector - he's been on the public payroll all of his life. (I knew him decades ago when we were both teachers.)
The Republican who beat Baines ran on a platform of tax cuts, among other things. Fiscal conservatives also won various seats in Nashua and Laconia. It was a good day in NH!
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