KELLY PEASE
Unofficial results: Kelly Pease has 117 vote lead over Dan Allie
WESTFIELD – Kelly Pease and Dan Allie went head to head in the State House 4th Hampden Republican primary on Sept. 1, seeking the GOP nomination for the House seat left vacant by John C. Velis who was elected to the state senate.
Pease, a retired U.S. Army officer and a former legislative aide for former state Sen. Donald F. Humason Jr., came out on top in his firstever election, earning 1,733 votes to 1,616 for Allie, a difference of 117 votes, according to unofficial returns.
However, Allie, a four-time Westfield City Councilor who had previously run against Velis for the House seat, said he was told by the City Clerk’s office that not all of the mail-in ballots had been counted by the close of the election.
“There are a number of mail-in ballots that were not counted before the polls closed. Until we have further information, we will watch closely before making an official statement,” Allie said.
City Clerk Karen M. Fanion said some mail-in ballots that were deposited at 8 p.m. were processed through her office and sent to the precincts to be tallied manually as auxiliary ballots, but had yet not been added to the machine tape total.
“We have until Saturday to certify the election,” Fanion said. That count will also include some provisional ballots from voters who said they were registered, for example in the RMV or online, but were not in the system and have to be researched in her office.
“There are some outstanding things that have to be taken care of. That’s very normal, and is part of the process and procedure,” Fanion added, saying that the official results must be reported to the state by Sept. 5.
“I feel ecstatic,” Pease said. “This process has been fantastic, just meeting the voters of Westfield. My family and I are going to take a vacation this weekend and reset. Then I’m going to get to know the rest of the voters, because I’m going to represent all of the voters, not just the Republicans.”
He added that the process was a bit exhausting. “I knocked on over 2,000 doors and lost 13 pounds,” he said.
Pease said he was feeling good about the response he received. “After 20 years in the military, and my legislative aide experience, I’m going to hit the ground running. I will advocate for Westfield, and I’m looking forward to it.”
If the results hold, Pease will face Democratic candidate Matt Garlo and Independent Ethan Flaherty in the Nov. 3 election.
