MOOREcol.04-07-2005. . . . . . .39 Hed : The new board With unity on Creating a future By BOB MOORE Whew! It's over. Decisively. Peacefully. The new Board of Selectmen is unified - ready to work out a plan for the future that will include the board and manager filling their roles as written in the law. That's saying something when we consider the heavy crossfire over contracts and such. And six candidates in the race. But the overwhelming victory of Dennis Giombetti in all precincts -3502 votes stands out. John Stasik's 2449 restored him to public life and he can be expected to keep his pledge to work for a board devoted to immediate problems - including the shaky relationship between board and manager. >From the time Giombetti told me at the Democratic primary last September that this time he would respond to repeated pleas to run, I felt sure there would be a man experienced in the give and take of government operations. But you didn't need my say-so. From those who followed the candidates' forums on TV this year, I've had so many calls from viewers who said his quiet but steady explanations stood out. Giombetti had a campaign well organized by Atty. Janice Rogers that added newcomers to the longstanding support he had, even without being in the spotlight. Let me stop right here - and explain this campaign, as I saw it. In January, a wide group of political workers joined in supporting both Giombetti and Stasik. Many friends were in this camp or, rather in these two camps. I was uneasy about such a union and looked for ways to keep the race spread out. My mistake was in choosing Precinct One TM member Ellen LaRose in opposition to Stasik. It would be a race. It was not. The LaRose forces were totally disorganized and her case was "preached to the choir, not to the congregation." Her 1554 votes left her trailing, a distant third. The votes of Jim Rizoli [948], Dennis Paulsen [277] and Harold Wolfe [522] had no effect on the outcome. Thank goodness, it was not a light turnout. Rizoli, gaining some attention in full dress, took advantage of a nascent dislike of immigrants in general to push "for me. You know where I stand." Well, it was an attempt at rabble rousing. It didn't "pay off;" it was chilling. Originally, it seemed that a dogged determination to blot out the behavior of the 4-1 board would be needed. I was wrong. It was so clear that something needed to be done blunted any rugged voting. I detected some of the "get King" attitude in the campaign. King may have to answer for his conning the board into a contract extension, but the real problem was with the board. George King can stand on his record. That said, from here it looks as if the skill of the campaign and the readiness of voters to ask for a policy-making board prevailed and the way is clear for some positive action on revitalization of Downtown and some steadiness on a housing policy. One thing ought to be clear - organization of the board tonight is up to the five members : Charlie Sisitsky, Katie Murphy, Ginger Esty, Giombetti and Stasik. Who will be chairman, vice chairman and clerk is not governed by static rules. Those offices rest solely in the hands of five members and what they see as politically sensible. Despite all the talk of a 4-1 board, I would not look for Esty to get the nod. Let's wait and see. A fresh look is what we find in the election of two men to the beleaguered Keefe School Committee. Alexander J. [AJ] Mulvey led with 2751 votes to lead, followed by former Selectman Mike Rossi with 2483. Both men defeated incumbent Yanick Garnier with 1486 votes. AJ, a 23-year-old graduate of the university of Denver and employed in marketing with a Waltham small tech firm. This was Mulvey's first run for office but he says he hopes to upgrade the attitude toward vocational education. Before election, Mulvey made an intensive study of the Shawsheen Valley Region. AJ is experienced in youth affairs and joins his mother, Town Clerk Valerie Mulvey, who won with a minimum of blanks in her uncontested race. The Mulveys and Giombetti are close political allies. It was no surprise that Vice Chair Ann Welles of the Planning Board garnered 2477 votes in her campaign for a second three-year term. Second in his return to politics after a long absence, Denis Black posted 1817 votes. It was never close but the fight over Planning Board action on the Planned Unit Development at Danforth Farms played a big role. Welles pledges caution in further action on the P.U.D. _______________________________________ You can reach Bob Moore at edmoore4@aol.com or at 1-508-620-1449. To unsubscribe, send email to majordomo@syslang.net with body unsubscribe frambors (the subject is ignored). Please read the Frequently Asked Questions maintained online at http://frambors.syslang.net/faq/about.html before posting or replying.