WILBRAHAM – With three contested races drawing interest, a total of 1,475 of Wilbraham’s 11,000 voters cast ballots in the town election on May 15.

The seat on the Board of Selectmen left vacant by Robert Russell’s impending departure was won by Terry Goodrich. She received 807 votes to John Broderick’s 621.

In the four-way race to fill two seats on the Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District’s (HWRSD) School Committee, William Bontempi maintained his seat with the most votes at 744. Educator Lisa Murray’s 715 votes won her the seat left open by Michelle Emirzian’s departure from the committee. The remaining two candidates, Joseph Lawless and Dagmar Mechem received 656 and 601 votes, respectively.

“Congratulations to Dr. Bill Bontempi and Lisa Murray on winning the school committee seats,” Lawless said in an email to Reminder Publishing. “Seeing the passion, energy and effort they put into their campaigns, I am confident they will both do a fantastic job and improve our children’s education.” Lawless expressed appreciation to the community for supporting him and said it was “unbelievably humbling.” He plans to continue working to help the town and will run for elected office again.

Similarly, Mechem said she was “honored” to have received so many votes. “I am confident Lisa Murray will be a great addition to the school committee and I am excited to see her in action. I would like to congratulate her and the incumbent, Bill Bontempi, for their win. Hampden Wilbraham Regional School District continues to be a district I feel privileged to have my children attend,” Mechem said.

“I look forward to working with the other members of the school committee and the district in fostering recovery after the height of the pandemic,” Murray said. “We must ensure that the social-emotional, behavioral, and academic needs of all students are met in the forthcoming years.”

For Bontempi’s part, he said, “I’m glad the election is over and we can get back to business.” He plans to focus on three key areas over the next three years on the committee. The first one is continuing to grow the “collaborative and engaging” relationship between the School Committee’s Finance Subcommittee and the Wilbraham Finance Committee and the Hampden Advisory Board, “with a greater focus on including our local legislators.”

He also said that he is focused on settling the lawsuit between the HWRSD and the town of Hampden and creating a strategic plan for the district. It has been over 20 years since the HWRSD has had a strategic plan. “In simplest terms, the strategic plan is essentially a destination. Once that destination has been decided upon, the school community can then formulate policies and curricula to reach that destination,” Bontempi said.

Town Moderator James Jurgens held onto his position, receiving 186 votes to his opponent Xiomara Alban DeLobato’s 117.

“I want to express my thanks and appreciation for all the support from Wilbraham residents and voters,” said Jurgens. Of the Town Meeting over which he will continue to preside, Jurgens said, “The amount of vigorous debate at this recent Town Meeting shows it is alive and well. I was encouraged by the larger turnout of younger voters at this year’s Town Meeting, and hope this is an upward trend. We all have a vested interest in Wilbraham and I encourage all age groups to take part in Annual and Special Town Meetings.”