Selectman tops Arlington vote

In the battle for the Fourth Middlesex Senate seat formerly held by J. James Marzilli Jr., Kenneth Donnelly soundly beat Jack Hurd by 3,256 votes, though the selectman won Arlington by 633 votes. The top vote-getter in the overall Senate race Sept. 16 drew 11,969 votes and Hurd had 8,713.

Marzilli, who withdrew from the race in June following charges he groped women in Lowell but was still on the ballot, got 1,290 votes, 203 in Arlington. Hurd conceded the race at 9:30 primary night.

Victory for Donnelly means the retired Lexington firefighter and current firefighter official who lives in Arlington advances to thegeneral election, Nov. 4, and faces Republican Brion Cangiamila of Billerica, who ran a write-in campaign. Cangiamila received 70 write-ins on the Republican ballot and three on the Democratic ballot.

The crowd at the Sons of Italy sent up jubilant cheers as Donnelly arrived before final numbers were reported to the gathering.

Ken Donnelly addresses supporters at the Sons of Italy on election night.

The event included no spreadsheet of results projected on a screen. Instead, Town Meeting member Brian Rehrig was trying to keep track of sketchy precinct vote counts on notebook paper.

About 9 p.m., he said that the Donnelly campaign staff had told him their candidate had won by 3,300 votes. At that point, Rehrig was leery. A later accounting proved the estimate close to that figure.

Rep. Jay Kaufman, Democract of Lexington, unopposed as he retained his seat, including 991 votes in Arlington, welcomed Donnelly, who said his supporters put together an "unprecedented coalition."

You could see it among the faces of those gathered. They ranged from Billerica firefighters to liberal voices who in the past had backed Marzilli. They includes Selectman Clarissa Rowe, School Committee member Jeff Thielman and former School Committee member Paul Schlichtman.

"We're not through yet," Donnelly said, referring to the work that is ahead of him in the general election. To his rival, Cangiamila, he said: "This is not Kansas, and they [Republicans] won't spin us."

Regarding Question 1, Donnelly said the ballot initiative aimed at repealing the state income tax is the main issue in the general election.

"We need to make sure that government works for people," he told those gathered. "Eliminating the state income tax would cut revenues by 40 percent and dismantle necessary and important services. It's ridiculous."

Kaufman said that he "could not be more thrilled about the new partnerI am about to get in the State House," Referring to Donnelly's expectedperformance in the State House, he added, "You aint seen nothing yet!" 

Among those in the audience, Rowe was askedwhat she thinks Donnelly's election means to Arlington. "Ken is a smart man who knows how to make a difference," she said. "He cares about the constituency and will take care of the interests of Arlington and in other communities."

AudreyDeshler of Lexington, a friend of the family who said she has knownDonnelly for more than 30 years, said: "Ken has been involved in State House matters for years. He is committed and knows the way toget things done. I know he will give it the best he has."

In summing up the meaning of Donnelly's win, Schlichtman wrote in an e-mail:

"I thought Ken Donnelly's win is great for the district; he is knowledgeable and hard-working. He will be a great senator.

"The nice thing about his campaign is that it brought many people together. Ken has a tremendous gift, he is able to relate to a broad coalition of voters.

"It is very important that we defeat Question 1, because it will reduce state revenues by 40%. Our present tax revenues aren't enough to adequately fund local aid and schools, and a draconian reduction will be the equivalent to a train wreck.

"This is a solidly Democratic district, and I am glad our next senator will spend the next two months discussing this important issue with the voters." 

According to unofficial returns on the Town of Arlington Web site,  Hurd won the following precincts in Arlington (numbers in parentheses show the spread):

2 (127); 3, 4,  5, 6 (2), 7, 9, 10, 11 (95), 13 (139), 14, 15, 16 (2), 17, 18, 20 and 21 (68).

Here are Donnelly's precinct wins in Arlington:

1, 8, 12, and 19 (8).  

Earlier unofficial, incomplete numbers  were:

Arlington -- Donnelly, 3,741; Hurd, 4,374; Republican write-ins, 170.

Billerica -- Donnelly, 2,229; Hurd, 1,447. 

Burlington -- Donnelly, 1,303; Hurd, 791.

Lexington -- Donnelly, 1,753; Hurd, 750; Marzilli, 160.

Woburn (11 of the 12 precincts reporting) -- Donnelly, 2,537; Hurd, 1,130.

Also of note among primary returns, Rep. Sean Garballey, unopposed, received 5,187 votes.

Registration, turnout 

As to voter registration, numbers provided by the town's registrar of voters showed thos eligible to vote in the April 5 Town Election at 28,772 people.

Between the April election and Aug. 27, the deadline to register for the primary, 939 signed up. On Aug. 27 itself, 50 people registered.

That brought the number of eligible voters in the town election 28,805. The turnout in the Sept. 16 primary was 24 percent, the clerk's office reported.