By Staff reports
The Enterprise
Posted Nov 04, 2009 @ 06:45 AM
Last update Nov 04, 2009 @ 07:20 AM
BROCKTON —
Voters have made Linda Balzotti the
first female mayor in Brockton's history and
African-American Jass Stewart the first
black city councilor. Three incumbent
councilors-at-large won new terms.
Balzotti received 7,330 votes to
Harrington's 5,600, for a margin of victory
of about 56 percent to 43 percent.
Harrington made a brief concession
speech at about 8:35 p.m. at Joe Angelo's
restaurant before supporters. "I love this
city. It has been an honor to serve this
city for over 20 years," Harrington told the
group.
Balzotti appeared before her ecstatic
supporters about 10 minutes later, saying:
"I look so forward to being the mayor of
this city, and leading this city."
In the councilor-at-large race,
the winners were: Robert F. Sullivan
7,546 votes; Thomas G. Brophy, 6,820; Todd
G. Petti, 6,025; and Stewart, 5,920.
Timothy Sullivan won the Ward 7 School
Committee seat vacated by Ronald Dobrowski,
and incumbent Janice Beyer won another term
as Ward 3 School Committee member.
Michelle DuBois won reelection as Ward 6
councilor and Thomas D. Monahan took the
open Ward 2 councilor seat.
In her
victory speech, Balzotti said, "I know
how hard all of you have worked. This has
been a long journey and we've been in this
together. We ran a clean positive race, we
ran a race based on what we want for the
city of Brockton and what we know Brockton
can be.
"I'm just so grateful ... I look forward to
leading this city in a positive direction. I
just want to leave you with this thought.
For anyone who thought their dreams weren't
possible, through hard work and
determination and no real political
background, a girl who grew up in a ...
ranch in Brockton, through hard work,
just became the mayor of Brockton."
In his concession speech before
supporters, Harrington also said: "I want
you to know that we will do what we can to
help Linda Balzotti. I wish her luck also
... . I love each and every one of you and
I'll give each one of you a kiss ... It's
been a long career, and I can now go off
into the sunset."
In an
interview after his speech with radio
station WXBR 1460, the mayor was asked
if he would have done anything differently
during the campaign. He said: "I
don't think so. We put on a heck of a
campaign. I held my own in the debates."
He added he
got the message that voters wanted change.
Harrington also said that "across the
state, incumbent mayors knew that we would
have a tough time this year."