CLAREMONT — Voters on Tuesday easily passed a ballot question to allow sports betting at retail locations in the city.
In unofficial results the measure was approved in all three Wards by a margin of 777-536.
In contested City Council races, incumbent at-large councilors Nick Koloski (984 votes) and Abigail Kier, (708) were re-elected and will be joined by Deb Matteau (908) and Erica Sweetser (700) on the council. They defeated Chris Fazio (542), Patrick Lozito (493), and Bill Kennedy (473).
Koloski, owner of a bar and grill on Mulberry Street, will be serving his sixth two-year term on the council.
In Ward II, Jim Contois was elected over Dave Pacetti, 377-202, for the seat now held by Scott Pope, who did not seek re-election.
In July, Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law in the sports betting bill approved earlier by the legislature. It calls for a maximum of five mobile betting apps and retail gambling at no more than 10 locations.
Estimates are that more than $10 million in revenue will be received by the state for education in the first year.
Recently, the state Lottery Commission received bids from 13 vendors that want to manage sports gambling in the state. They would oversee both the online and in-person wagering. Lottery officials expect to select a winning vendor by this month with betting starting early next year. Any establishment wishing to become one of the 10 locations will need approval from the lottery commission. Betting will not be allowed on college games by New Hampshire based-teams or college games played in New Hampshire.
Contois, 71, is the director of the Claremont Senior Center.
“I want to thank the voters. A lot of people have shown faith in me,” Contois said at the middle school after getting a congratulatory handshake from Pacetti. “But as I have said, this is not my seat; the seat belongs to the people and I am depending on the people to tell me what is foremost in their minds concerning the city.”
Sweetser said she was “surprised” at her win and thanked the voters inside the middle school where Ward I and Ward II votes casts their ballot. But more importantly she said she was pleased to see that three of the four winners in the at-large seats are women. “It is nice to see.”
Incumbents Mayor Charlene Lovett, Assistant Mayor Allen Damren, Ward I councilor Andrew O’Hearne and Ward III councilor Jonathan Stone were re-eleced in uncontested races.
Turnout citywide was nearly 25% of the city’s 6,179 registered voters.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
Correction
Claremont City Councilor Nick Koloski was elected to his sixth two-year term. An earlier version of this story misstated how long he has served on the City Council.
