Greenfield Defeats Question One, Elects Two New School Committee Members And Four New City Councilors

By CHRIS COLLINS and JULIE CUNNINGHAM

(Greenfield, MA)  — The signature threshold to put a referendum question on a Greenfield election ballot will NOT be changing. Greenfield residents Tuesday voted against Ballot Question One, 1,458 to 1,321. The non-binding question asked if voters favored the Charter Review Committee’s recommendation that the number of required referendum signatures be increased, which would theoretically make it more difficult to put referendum initiatives before voters.

There will be some new faces on the Greenfield School Committee next year. Incumbent Glenn Johnson-Mussad, and new candidates Kathryn Lynn Martini and Elizabeth Ann Deneeve were the top three vote-getters for three school committee seats. The three ran as a slate of candidates. Johnson-Mussad finished first with 2,846 votes. Martini received 1,688 votes and Deneeve 1,492. Finishing out of the running was incumbent Susan Hollins who received 906 votes, and newcomer Daryl Essesna finished with 621 votes.

In the city council elections, At-Large Councilor Penny Ricketts lead all candidates with 2,190 votes. A number of write-in ballots were cast for the other At-Large seat. Michael Terounzo had campaigned for that seat. Incumbent Councilors Sheila Gilmour and Doug Mayo were re-elected to represent Precincts 6 and 8 without opposition. Marianne Bullock ran unopposed for the Precinct 5 seat currently occupied by Tim Dolan, Japser Lapienski finished first for the Precinct 7 seat being vacated by Otis Wheeler, defeating write-in candidate Carissa Clifford. And a number of write-in votes were cast for the vacant Precinct 9 seat currently occupied by Norman Hirschfeld. The winner of that seat will be the top write-in vote-getter should he or she agree to take the post once the votes are counted. Newcomer Mike Corona had run a write-in campaign for that seat.