Little Compton Democrats have strengthened their control of the town council, according to unofficial election results as of 10:15 p.m. Tuesday.
With in-person, mail and early votes counted but …
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Little Compton Democrats have strengthened their control of the town council, according to unofficial election results as of 10:15 p.m. Tuesday.
With in-person, mail and early votes counted but not yet reported on the state board of elections website, incumbents Victoria Talbot (D), Gary Mataronas (R), Patrick McHugh (D) and Andrew Iriarte-Moore (D) earned enough votes to return to the council, and will be joined by former school committee chairman Travis Auty, the chairman of the Little Compton Democratic Town Committee.
Incumbent Republican Paul Golembeske and challenger Sal Marinosci (R) finished just out of the running, as did Michael Rocha (R), the former school committee member who serves as chairman of the Little Compton Republican Town Committee.
Unofficial results are as follows, with the top five vote getters securing seats on the next council:
Victoria Talbot: 1,235
Travis Auty: 1,184
Patrick McHugh: 1,146
Andrew Iriarte-Moore: 1,147
Gary Mataronas: 1,066
Finishing out of the money are:
Paul Golembeske: 979
Sal Marinosci: 939
Michael Rocha: 855
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Democrats gathered at the Brownell House on election night, with Republicans holding court just up the road at the Odd Fellows Hall.
Talbot said that while she wasn’t necessarily surprised at the outcome, she was “honored” to learn she received the highest vote totals.
“I’m humbled and proud,” she said. “And I do think that our Democratic candidates, together with the LC Dems town committee, ran a great campaign and stayed positive, with a positive vision for the town.”
Auty, who left his chairmanship of the school committee to run for council, said the same:
“First and foremost, I’m so grateful to the people of Little Compton for putting me there alongside Andrew, Victoria and Patrick. We hit the ground running and it just speaks volumes to the campaign that we ran.”
“I think the people of Little Compton have seen the progress that has been made by the Democratic majority, and we want to keep that going.”
Mataronas, the only republican to earn a seat on the incoming council, said he too was happy to be given a vote of confidence by voters despite being the odd man out. But he said he will do what he has always done — advocate for the town and its residents in fairness and honesty.
“I’m happy that the town is supporting me because I try to do everything I can for the residents,” said Mataronas, who will have served 30 years on the council by the time his term ends in 2028.
“I try to listen and be fair and honest and think about what’s best for the town. Nobody knew what was going to happen this year with everything that’s been going on, so I’m very pleased.”
Rocha, who left a seat on the school committee to run for council and chairs the Republican Town Committee, did not return a telephone call before his story was published Tuesday evening.
The new council is expected to be sworn in by Thursday, Dec. 5.