By Beth David, Editor
Fairhaven voters chose to recall Select Board Chairperson Daniel Freitas by a huge margin in the special Recall Election on 7/26/21. Stasia Powers won his seat, in a field of three, by only 24 votes.
Official results show 2350 voters cast ballots, a 19.58% turnout, which is a pretty respectable showing in any local election. The last local election in April, which had a contested Select Board race, had a 19.2% turnout with 2290 voters casting ballots. In 2020, which also had a hotly contested Select Board race, turnout was 18.8%, with 2164 voters casting ballots.
The recall question passed 1906 to 421 (with 23 blanks).
Ms. Powers received 809 votes, Leon Correy III received 785, and Cameron Durant received 660.
Ms. Powers will be only the second woman to serve on the Select Board in the town’s 209 year history. In a weird twist of irony, the first women to serve as a Select Board member was Ruth Galary, who beat Sam Freitas, Dan’s father, in 1991 (see sidebar).
The seat is for the eight-month unexpired term, so Ms. Powers will have to run again in April, when it is up for re-election.
All three candidates, and some supporters, were at Fairhaven Town Hall on Monday night to hear the results first hand. Government Access TV cablecast live from the Banquet Room as Acting Town Clerk Linda Fredette read the unofficial numbers. Then each candidate had a chance to speak.
Mr. Correy thanked everyone who supported him, “openly and behind the scenes.”
He thanked his wife and family for helping him along.
“It’s been a lot of hard work,” he said, and thanked everyone who sent “positive and encouraging thoughts.
Mr. Correy also thanked both the other candidates.
Mr. Durant, who serves on the Board of Public Works, also thanked his wife and his “three little girls” for giving him the opportunity to “follow passion and try to serve the town in a new capacity.”
He also thanked his supporters and volunteers for their “graciousness.”
“It has just been incredible and I have so much gratitude for everything they’ve done for myself and my campaign,” said Mr. Durant. “I’d like to thank Selectwoman-elect Ms. Powers and Leon for just being lovely individuals to go through this exercise with, and I just wish them all the best.”
Ms. Powers thanked her “hardworking team” and turned to the crowd: “You guys are amazing,:” she said.
“I’m so grateful for everything they have done. I couldn’t have gotten through this without them…so many hours of work,” she said. “And I’m just so grateful.”
She thanked her family for being supportive, “because it is a great undertaking, and you end up having to be out a lot. And I’m so grateful that they were patient with me.”
Ms. Powers told voters she was “so proud to be able to serve the town in this capacity.”
“It’s a been a haul,” she added. “And I couldn’t be happier.”
Ms. Powers also asked people to step up and volunteer to be on committees and to run for office, noting that she will have to resign her seat on the School Committee.
“Run, please run for election,” said Ms. Powers. “We need more people, we need more good people to run for election. It’s an amazing experience and you can have an immediate impact on your community. It’s a wild ride but it’s wholly worth every minute of it.”
Select Board member Bob Espindola started by thanking Mr. Freitas for his time on the Select Board.
“He did serve for some time and I think he deserves to be acknowledged,” said Mr. Espindola.
He also thanked all three candidates for running, and said he would like to meet with each of them to hear their ideas. He also said he looked forward to the future when there would be five members on the Selectboard.
“So I hope you’ll stay engaged,” said Mr. Espindola.
Selectboard member Keith Silvia congratulated Ms. Powers and said he looked forward to working with her.
He also said he felt all three of them were winners, “because it takes a lot to put yourself out there.”
“And you get ridiculed, everything,” he said. “Get ready.”
After the statements to the public, the group mingled around town hall for a bit.
Mr. Durant said he was pleasantly surprised that he made friends with his opponents along the campaign trail. It was an unexpected bonus, especially with Mr. Correy, he said; their daughters were at paint night together.
He said he believed Ms. Powers would do a good job for the town and believed the nature of the campaign was good for the town.
“It’s so good to start with the healing to come,” said Mr. Durant.
Ms. Powers exuded exuberance as she said, “I am excellent.”
“I’m really excited to get started to try to make an impact to move the town in a positive direction,” said Ms. Powers.
In a phone interview, Mr. Correy said he did not believe in “moral victories.”
“I mean, I lost,” he said. “I’m certainly disappointed, but appreciate the people who did vote for me.”
He said the support was “overwhelming” with no one seeming to believe he could do what he did.
“So it’s really an honor to have gone from an absolute nobody to 785 votes coming within [24] votes of Stasia,” he said, noting she had the entire School Committee behind her and an endorsement from Mr. Espindola.
Mr. Correy said he did not have a team, he had his wife and himself.
He said his next move is to focus on the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee.
The election in April is a decision to be made later, he said.
“Now, I just want to spend the rest of the summer with the kids,” said Mr. Correy. “They got cheated. They get daddy back for the rest of the summer.”
He added that he appreciated that he ran as the best candidate, and did not mention race in his
campaign.
The recall effort started in April, when a group of dedicated volunteers collected 2521 certified signatures, 138 more than required, to force a recall election to remove Mr. Freitas from his seat on the board. The Select Board set the date for 7/26, the last possible Monday to hold the election and still be in compliance with the bylaw.
The Recall Dan Freitas group sent a statement to the Neighb News.
“From the dedicated volunteers who organized the successful recall signature drive: ‘We’re proud to help Fairhaven cast its voice for decency, integrity and our town’s positive future.’”
To watch the candidates after the election, visit https://livestream.com/fairhavenlive
To see a breakdown of numbers by precinct, visit the town clerk’s website https://www.fairhaven-ma.gov/town-clerk
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Click here to download the entire 7/29/21 issue: 07-29-21 RecallElection
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