HAMPDEN COUNTY – Ask many of the local town clerks if the number of voters participating in the Nov. 8 election met expectations and you’ll likely get the same answer – no, but in a good way.

“No, it was much more than that for a lot of towns,” Brimfield Town Clerk Debra Fagerstrom told Reminder Publishing when asked if turnout was as expected.

Voters in Brimfield came out to the tune of 60 percent of all registered voters, a total count of 1,742 ballots cast. Included in that figure were roughly 500 mail-in ballots.

“Even take away the vote-by-mail and still well over 1,200 that came that day,” Fagerstrom said of Election Day. “I don’t ever recall seeing long lines inside, but that’s what we had all day. They just kept coming and coming and coming.”

Echoing those sentiments was Wales Town Clerk Sarah Ryan, who called the 53 percent turnout “a lot higher” than expected. Of the 1440 registered voters, 758 cast ballots, including 227 early voting participants.

In her first election since being elected town clerk, Valerie Lundin said that even without context of previous elections, turnout “looked pretty good to me” with 1,068 total ballots cast, including 350 early votes. “I would say they were constantly coming,” she observed.

Fagerstrom said while there was a governor’s race between Democrat Attorney General Maura Healey and Republican Geoff Diehl, one ballot question in particular appeared to motivate voters to participate leading up to and on Nov. 11.

“I think a lot of people were passionate about Question 4,” she said, referring to the ballot question regarding the state’s existing law permitting immigrants lacking permanent legal status to obtain drivers’ licenses.

Ryan also opined that the ballot questions factored in heavily in voter turnout.

“I just feel like when there are questions on the ballot, it usually brings out more of a crowd,” she said.

Adding to that, Lundin observed, “I certainly think that was true. I saw a lot of people taking a lot of time with their ballots, and I think they were being very careful in reading those questions.”

While voters statewide approved Question 4, with slightly less than 54 percent in favor, the majority of Brimfield, Wales and Holland voters opposed upholding the law approved by the House and Senate in May enabling immigrants lacking legal status to obtain driver’s licenses. Roughly 62 percent of Brimfield voters, 58 percent of those in Holland and 49 percent in Wales opposed the measure while 34, 27 and 39 percent supported it, respectively.

Voters in the three towns also went against statewide trends on Question 1, which proposed an additional 4 percent surtax on income over $1 million, known as the “Millionaire’s Tax.” The question passed with 52 percent of the vote, but 58 percent of Brimfield voters opposed it as well as 53 percent of Holland voters and 55 percent of those from Wales.

The majority of the towns’ voters supported dental insurance reform measures outlined in Question 2, but not as enthusiastically as the rest of the state. While the measure received support than more than 71 percent of voters, 56 percent of Brimfield voters, 63 percent of those in Holland and 57 percent of Wales residents who cast ballots voted for its approval.

Sixty-one percent of Brimfield voters, 58 percent of Holland voters and 65 percent of Wales voters voted against Question 3, which, if approved, would have gradually expanded the number of retail alcohol licenses a business could own. Statewide, 55 percent of voters opposed the question.

Fagerstrom also noted that her office received several phone calls from people who had voted by mail requesting to re-vote because they did not realize questions were on the back of the ballot despite instructions spelling that out to voters.

“I guess you could say that is one of the disadvantages to voting by mail,” she said.
Candidates’ performance

While Healey and her running mate Kim Driscoll handily won the gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, Diehl and his running mate Leah Cole Allen carried many rural and small towns, including Brimfield, Wales and Holland. As a whole, Hampden County represents one of the Republicans’ strongest showings, trailing only Bristol County.

Diehl and Allen accounted for nearly 56 percent of the vote compared to Healey and Driscoll’s 42 percent in Brimfield. Holland supported Diehl and Allen with 52 percent over Healey and Driscoll at 44 percent while 60 percent of Wales voters also supported the Republican candidates over the Democrats (37 percent). The Libertarian gubernatorial ticket of Kevin Reed and Peter Everett was around the statewide average of 2 percent in all three communities.

The trend of support for Republican candidates in contested races was similarly consistent across the ballot in all three towns. While getting handily beaten districtwide, Republican 1st Congressional District candidate Dean Martilli carried Brimfield with 55 percent of the vote, Wales with 56 percent and Holland with 50 percent. Incumbent Democratic Congressman Richard Neal garnered 45 percent of the tallies in Brimfield, 41 percent in Wales and 48 percent in Holland.

In a race with more local impact, Republican Gary Galonek lost his bid to represent the 7th District on the Governor’s Council in spite of a 59 percent edge in Brimfield, 63 percent in Wales and 57 percent in Holland. Incumbent Democrat Paul DePalo captured 38 percent of Brimfield votes, 34 percent in Wales and 39 percent in Holland but still carried the district with 57 percent of the vote.

Republican Attorney General James McMahon was heavily supported in Brimfield (57 percent), Wales (62 percent) and Holland (55 percent) over Democrat Andrea Campbell (41, 36 and 42 percent, respectively), who ultimately won the statewide vote to succeed Healey.

Republican Anthony Amore easily won the Brimfield vote in the race for auditor with 55 percent. Democratic candidate and statewide victor Diana Dizoglia finished a distant second in the town with 34 percent while Gloria Cabballero-Roca, Dominic Giannone and Daniel Riek each collected 3 percent or less. Wales and Holland voters supported Amore as the state’s next watchdog at a 58 and 52 percent clip, respectively. Dizoglia garnered 31 percent of the vote in Wales and 34 percent of the Holland votes. The other candidates experienced a similar lack of success in those communities.

Secretary of state candidate Rayla Campbell was another popular Republican in Brimfield, Wales and Holland, though not as convincingly as other GOP candidates, in losing the statewide race to incumbent Democrat William Galvin. Campbell received 49 and 53 percent of the vote in Brimfield and Wales, respectively, compared to Galvin’s 47 and 42 percent showings. Galvin topped Campbell in Holland, 49 percent to 46 percent. The race was still far closer in local communities than it was county or statewide. Galvin accepted 58 percent of the Hampden County vote and 68 percent in the state, compared to Campbell’s 37 and 30 percent showing, respectively. Rainbow-Green Party candidate Juan Sanchez garnered roughly 3 percent in these communities and statewide.

Democrat Deborah Goldberg carried Brimfield (52 percent), Wales (48 percent) and Holland (51 percent) over Libertarian candidate Cristina Crawford (36 percent in Brimfield and 38 percent in Holland and Wales) on her way to victory in the race for treasurer.