WESTFIELD—The race for the Ward Four City Councilor seat is now down to two.
Unofficial election results from Ward Four showed that Michael Burns and Dawn Thomas will be facing off in the November election for the Ward Four City Councilor position after they were the two highest vote-getters during yesterday’s preliminary election. Burns and Thomas received more votes than Bernard Fitzgerald-Rosenblum, who was the third candidate in the preliminary.
The three candidates were vying for the seat after current Ward Four City Councilor Mary O’Connell announced she would not seek re-election this year.
Dawn Thomas
Michael Burns
“We feel good, we worked very hard and we are looking forward to the next month or so toward the general election,” Burns said.
“I’m very glad and very happy today that I’m going on to November, that was the first hurdle,” Thomas said. “Had to get through the preliminary to get to the general election and I survived that.”
In addition, both Burns and Thomas thanked their supporters.
Fitzgerald-Rosenblum said that while he lost, the experience was worthwhile.
“You’re supposed to win graciously and lose humbly,” he said. “I met my whole neighborhood. if that’s the worst thing that happens that is a great experience.”
Fitzgerald-Rosenblum added, “I tried, I didn’t succeed as well as I wanted to. I congratulate the two that did.”
The election results, which came from City Clerk Karen Fanion, had leading vote-getter Burns getting just one more vote than Thomas, who garnered the second-most votes.
The unofficial total amount of votes casted were 491 votes out of 4,087 registered, totaling about a 12 percent voter turnout. The overall results were:
-Burns: 222
-Thomas: 221
-Fitzgerald-Rosenblum: 46
-Write-ins: 2
Precinct breakdown
In Ward 4A, 124 total ballots were cast, totaling an 8 percent voter turnout, according to Fanion. The unofficial results were as follows:
-Burns: 62
-Thomas: 54
-Fitzgerald-Rosenblum: 8
-Write-ins: 0
In Ward 4B, 367 total ballots were cast, totaling about 14 percent turnout, according to Fanion. The unofficial results were as follows:
-Thomas: 167
-Burns: 160
-Fitzgerald-Rosenblum: 38
-Write-ins: 2
Fanion said that the city has up to 10 days to make the results official, though she expects that this could happen as soon as today.
The general election is next, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 7, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
