ESSEX — Voters at Monday’s annual town election approved a Proposition 2½ override request to fund the assessment for the Manchester Essex Regional School District and propelled challenger Ann Cameron to an upset victory over incumbent Selectmen Chair Ruth Pereen.
By a 335-vote margin, residents agreed to the override designed to raise an additional $698,196 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of supplementing the Manchester Essex Regional School District assessment for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
The vote was 704-369, according to unofficial election results posted at the Public Safety Building at 11 John Wise Ave. shortly after the polls closed at 8 p.m.
“I think it was a good race,” Pereen said after news arrived she had lost. “The person with the most votes won.”
The Select Board race, for a three-year term, was the only contested contest on the ballot.
In the non-contested contests, Jacob Geoffrey Foster was awarded a 3-year seat on the Manchester Essex Regional School District School Committee with 751 votes, with 10 write-in votes cast.
Planning Board member Lisa O’Donnell, running for re-election, earned 800 votes, with 27 write-in votes cast, for another 5-year terms.
Robert Fitzgibbon, won 812 votes to take a seat for three years on the Board of Library Trustees, with two write-in votes tallied.
There were no candidates for a 3-year seat on each of the Board of Health and the Board of Assessors, but 235 and 77 write-in votes were cast, respectively. The winning candidates will be considered for those seats.
Voters steadily streamed Monday into at Essex’s single polling place, the Essex Public Safety Building at 11 John Wise Ave.
Dan Marshall was one of those who voted Monday afternoon. He was clear about his position on the override request.
“I voted no because our taxes are already high enough,” he said. “It never ends. It’s always more, more, more.”
Standing next to and echoing Marshall was Joanne Henderson.
“I voted no because it’s hard enough for the seniors to live in this town,” she said. “It’s hard enough for us to pay our bills.”
Walter Dexter Tindley said the school override request was the reason he came out to vote. He said it was unacceptable to offer the question in light of enrollment figures for Essex students recently declining.
“That’s why I voted,” he said. “They have (fewer) kids then they’ve had in the past. There are too many yuppies in town. I say no to the override.”
Down the street from the Public Safety Building ,several residents were holding signs backing the Select Board candidates and showing support for the override.
Resident Brian Gressler backed the override question.
“I think it benefits the whole town,” he said. “You can’t live forever on the Proposition 2 1/2. Eventually, inflation catches up.”
Select Board candidate Cameron was part of the crowd. She said her supporters had been encouraging people to vote Monday.
“We want to make sure we have enough people out and voting,” she said. “I think it will be close or I’ll get creamed.”
Not far from Cameron was Pereen, her opponent.
“I think it’s exciting that we have a contested selectmen’s race,” Pereen said. “I think it’s nice to see so much support from our community.”
Town Clerk Amy Akell said 439 of the town’s approximately 3,000 registered voters had cast ballots by 1 p.m. Monday.
“It’s been steady all day,” she said Monday afternnon. “Knock on wood, everything is going smoothly.”
If the Proposition 2 ½ ballot question had failed, then a special Town Meeting would have been called, to be followed by a special election. At that point, were the question to still fail, then a “Super Town Meeting” would have taken place with Manchester and Essex residents participating, Akell said.