According to the Malden High School mock election results, Adam Weldai was in the lead for Councillor-At-Large with Craig Spadafora and David D’Arcangelo not far behind, leaving Debbie DeMaria unseated. Mayor Gary Christenson was re elected by the students, and only Questions one and two passed.
The actual election on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 resulted in the exact opposite. DeMaria, with 3,497 votes, D’Arcangelo, with 2,893 votes, and Spadafora, with 2,851 votes, remain the city’s Councillors-At-Large. Even though this is an upset for Weldai, his campaign was strong among the students, but evidently failed to leave the same impression on the voters.
Christenson was also voted back into office for the next four years with 4,569 city wide votes. A few weeks ago at the debate, Weldai reminded us that Christensen is one of the most “forward thinking mayors” he has seen, and a great fit for Malden.
Ward Councillors seated yesterday include Peg Crowe for Ward 1, Paul Condon for Ward 2, John Matheson for Ward 3, Ryan O’Malley for Ward 4, Barbara Murphy for Ward 5, Neil Kinnon for Ward 6, Neal Anderson for Ward 7, and Jadeane Sica for Ward 8.
The School Committee seats were also filled yesterday by Michael Drummey for Ward 1, Emmanuel Marsh for Ward 2, Larry Silverman for Ward 3, Leonard Iovino for Ward 4, Tara Beardsley for Ward 5, Jerry Leone for Ward 6, Catherine Bordonaro for Ward 7, and John Froio for Ward 8.
All three questions passed as well. Question one that would implement a non-binding, one-year moratorium on development of multi-family residential buildings, passed by 4,126 votes, very similar to the results at MHS.
Question two that is also non-binding, would allow Malden to acquire the Malden Hospital site owned by Hallmark Health. This passed with 4,315 votes, again similar to the results at MHS.
Finally, Question three that would allow Malden to adopt the Community Preservation Act was controversial among both the students and voters of the city. It passed, unlike at MHS, with 3,365 vote, a closer call than the first two questions.
Even though the results may differ from those of the mock election, comparing the two allows everyone to see the different ideologies of separate age groups. Congratulations to all who were elected!
