Grafton narrowly passes override; Often and Roy win in landslide

If there’s one word to describe Grafton’s mood, it’s this one: Change.

Voters Tuesday overwhelmingly chose Mat Often and Colleen Roy as the town’s new Select Board members over incumbents Jennifer Thomas and Donna Stock. They also passed a $4 million Proposition 2 1/2 override to help schools and public safety — during a pandemic.

The numbers: Often 2,089; Roy 1,966; Stock 1,124; Thomas 1,018. Both Often and Roy hail from the Finance Committee, where they were very vocal about town finances and budget projections. Stock was elected to the Select Board in the fall; Thomas was serving as Select Board chairperson after six years in office.

“It was a very clear message from the town,” Often said. “I’m really surprised at the numbers because it was an all-digital campaign — no events, just completely online and social media.”

Roy had already won a victory during Saturday’s Town Meeting when her citizen’s petition to transfer funds away from the Super Park was successful. It all seemed very surreal, she said.

“I think the voters were looking for something different, two new people to bring to the board with new ideas instead of business as usual,” she said.

While many voters came to the polls during the day Tuesday, the bulk of the ballots were cast well before. As of Monday, nearly 2,000 ballots were cast through early and absentee voting, with more flooding into the Town Clerk’s office Tuesday.

The COVID-19 pandemic likely spurred the push. The traditional May political season of Town Meeting and Town Election were bumped for a month as the state fought to bring down the number of viral cases. Evidence that the invisible foe remains was seen at the polls all day, between the masked sign holders waving on the sidewalks to the volunteers wiping down polling stations and pens.

The Proposition 2 1/2 override, one of two questions on the ballot, had closer numbers, with 1,657 voting for the override and 1,558 voting against.

School Committee Chairperson Laura Often had a double victory, with the override she championed prevailing and her husband gaining a Select Board seat.

“It’s a great night for the town of Grafton,” she said. “This means we’ll be in better shape. We’re going to be able to help our students, maintain programs, keep teachers.

“We still have a rocky road ahead,” she added. “We don’t know about state aid, but we’re in a way better position than we would have been without it.”

She praised the work of the YES Grafton team, which put together online forums and social media campaigns, reminding the town of what the schools would lose — teachers, support staff, sports programs — and what the town would gain with the hiring of its first full-time fire chief and deputy chiefs.

In the Town Moderator race, Dan Concaugh (1,807) won solidly over Bruce Spinney (1,219). Concaugh congratulated Spinney on a respectful campaign and said his first order of business would be finding candidates for the Finance Committee seats left behind by Often and Roy.

“I’m looking for people who can serve the town respectfully who can bring a good dialog to the town,” Concaugh said.

He also praised now-former Moderator Ray Mead, who served in the position for more than 20 years. “He’s going to be hard to replace,” he said. “What he pulled off Saturday (at Grafton’s first outdoor Town Meeting) was amazing. It’s not going to be an easy job — people get used to a certain way of doing things — but Town Meeting is the purest form of democracy. And you’re going to have that color and flavor that makes it so interesting.

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