Claremont
Meanwhile, a ballot question allowing the lottery game keno in city establishments that serve alcohol passed easily.
In the race among six candidates for four at-large seats, incumbent Nick Koloski, currently the Ward 3 councilor, was the top vote-getter with 930. He was followed by newcomer Jeremy Zullo (841), incumbent Abigail Kier (720) and Claire Lessard (693).
Falling short were Lee-anne Deveney, who received 541 votes, and Dave Pacetti, 537.
“Congratulations,” Gauthier, a Republican, said to O’Hearne after the Ward I results were taped to the wall in Claremont Middle School shortly after the polls closed.
“We gave the people a choice and they voted for me,” said O’Hearne, a Democrat who served two terms in the New Hampshire House and previously was on the city School Board. “Now it is time to get to work and make the city better. As I said before, we have to do some things differently because the same old is not working.”
Lessard, 76, the executive director of the Claremont Senior Center, said on Tuesday she was grateful for the support.
“It is a little surprising. For a beginner, not too bad,” Lessard said by phone. “I’m humbled, and I promise I will do my best. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time.”
Kier, who gave birth to her first child, Curtis, on Friday, said she is looking forward to getting to know the new councilors and that she also wants to update policies and ordinances to make them more efficient.
Kier, who was appointed to fill a vacancy in September, said her priority will be to address the issues voters told her were most important during the campaign: taxes, economic development and working more closely with the school district on spending.
The new nine-member council that will take its seat in January has significant turnover from the one elected two years ago.
Incumbents Carolyn Towle, Ward I, and at-large Councilors Keith Raymond, Bruce Temple and John Simonds did not seek re-election.
In August, Assistant Mayor Vic Bergeron had to resign when he moved out of town.
Re-elected on Tuesday in uncontested races were Mayor Charlene Lovett, Assistant Mayor Allen Damren and Ward 2 Councilor Scott Pope. In Ward 3, newcomer Jonathan Stone was elected with 295 votes.
The keno question passed in all three wards. Overall, the tally was 866-440, with 66 percent in favor.
Ann Campbell, who works as an office administrator in White River Junction, was in the minority on keno.
“I don’t support it because I think it is a slippery slope in terms of what we do as a society,” Campbell said after voting in Ward 3 at Disnard Elementary School.
Campbell said she might play keno occasionally, but she worries about the effect the game will have on those with gambling problems.
She also thought the ballot should have explained that some of the money raised will go into a fund to support all-day kindergarten in the state. Restructuring the current lottery system would accomplish the same funding goal as keno without adding another game, Campbell said.
The new lottery game was signed into law in July, but with the requirement that voters in each town or city vote to allow keno in their community.
Ward 2 residents Penny Murray and Scott Blanchette voted for it.
“I don’t mind it because it is a low-expense game,” Blanchette said.
“It will bring in some revenue,” said Murray, adding that she planned to play.
Albert Baird, a Ward 3 voter, said he didn’t have a “strong argument” either way, but ultimately voted yes.
“People are going to play so we might as well bring in some revenue,” Baird said before voting.
Keno is sold through self-service ticket machines and can be played for as little as a dollar. Cards have 80 numbers and players pick up to 20 numbers with drawings every five minutes.
Maura McCann, director of the state lottery, told the city council in August that the state expects keno to be operational next month and gross revenue estimates for the first full year are $44 million with prize money of about $31 million.
Establishments receive 8 percent of sales and rest will go to the state with an estimated $8.3 million to the education trust fund, which will pay $1,100 to cities and towns per pupil for all-day kindergarten.
McCann said there are 21 “pouring” establishments in Claremont, including the American Legion and VFW.
Turnout citywide on Tuesday was 20 percent, or 1,396 of the city’s 6,847 registered voters.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
