EAST LONGMEADOW – The East Longmeadow Annual Town Election took place on June 2, and with that, two veteran town council members and two veteran school committee members were welcomed back to their respective seats.

Marilyn Richards was voted back onto the town council with 795 votes. Michael Kane, current vice chair of the East Longmeadow Town Council, was also re-elected, with 744 votes. The two filled the open seats on the council, defeating Connor O’Shea at his respective 510 votes.

Following the election, Richards commented to Reminder Publishing on her win.

“Considering that this was an election that ‘almost wasn’t,’ it was an amazing day for East Longmeadow.  Between voter turnout, absentee ballots, and changes to both the town’s voting format and physical voting space, East Longmeadow truly succeeded.  

“As a candidate, I am humbled by the results. I love this town and I recognized long ago that it is the people that vote and it was up to me to earn that support. Thank you, East Longmeadow, for your vote of confidence.   

“As a newly elected council member, the immediate focus will continue on transitioning from pandemic to normal, as each component of town government has been affected. We are working to temporarily relax zoning standards where possible to assist each business as they plan to reopen. The huge challenge remains with the town’s revenue and the ability to provide the level of service that our residents have come to expect and enjoy.  I am confident that with time and the talents of many, this too shall succeed,” Richards said.

Kane also commented on his win, “Thank you to our town clerk and all the election workers for creating a safe environment for our residents to safely casts their votes. The entire event was very well organized. Thank you to our many residents for your participation with the absentee voting and attendance at the polls.

“I would like to personally thank all my supporters. With the election behind us its back to business this morning. Many documents to review prior to a budget finance meeting scheduled for later this morning.

“Our budget is my priority at this point in time. Hopefully capitol will be completed on Monday morning which is an essential piece of the puzzle. I look forward to the many challenges as we move ahead,” he said.

There were a total of 17 write-ins and 258 blank votes for town council.

There were two open seats on the East Longmeadow School Committee, and only two candidates filed papers for election to the seats, Gregory Thompson and Elizabeth Marsian-Boucher. Thompson has been serving on the school committee for the past 12 years, while Marsian-Boucher had served from 2010–2019, taking a year off. Thompson received 869 votes from residents, and Marsian-Boucher 883 votes. There were 44 write-ins, and 528 blanks.

A total of 1,162 voters came to the polls on election day, out of 12,264 registered voters in town. the percentage of registered voters that chose to vote on June 2 was 9.5 percent.