Thank You To Everyone Who Voted – Local Election Results
Thank you to each of the over 5000 voters who took the time to vote this year and congratulations to all the winners! Protecting our environment, economy, and future depends on each of us, the citizens of Charlestown, working together.
Four out of ten local candidates that CCA endorsed and supported in the November 5 election were elected, and we are grateful to the voters. However, none of our five Town Council candidates were elected. As a result, we will continue to engage the public to encourage Charlestown’s government to protect our environment and economy.
Thank you to everyone who ran in this year’s election!
Sarah Fletcher, Angela Jalbert, Peter Keating, Ruth Platner, and Bonnie Van Slyke, who ran for Town Council, and Coleen Galvin Yaroshenko, who ran for Planning Commission, were not elected, but we hope they will continue to serve the town and be involved in Charlestown’s government. Charlestown would be very lucky to benefit from their continued involvement.
Town Council
Elected Town Council members will serve for two years.
| Town Council Candidate | Total Votes |
|---|---|
| Richard Serra Elected | 2643 |
| Deborah Carney Elected | 2630 |
| Stephen Stokes Elected | 2460 |
| Craig Marr Elected | 2394 |
| Peter Slom Elected | 2282 |
| Sarah Fletcher | 2262 |
| Angela Jalbert | 2125 |
| Peter Keating | 2068 |
| Ruth Platner | 1991 |
| Bonnie Van Slyke | 1910 |
Planning Commission
Elected Planning Commission members will serve for two or six years. The highest two vote counts receive six year terms, the next two receive two year terms.
| Planning Commission Candidate | Total Votes | Term length |
|---|---|---|
| Glenn Babcock | 2376 | Elected to a 6 year term as full voting member |
| Sarah St. Laurent | 2234 | Elected to a 6 year term as full voting member |
| Lisa St. Godard | 2131 | Elected to a 2 year term as alternate |
| Carol Mossa | 2077 | Elected to a 2 year term as alternate |
| Coleen Galvin Yaroshenko | 1739 | |
| Laura Anne Rom | 1721 |
Planning Commission members Ruth Platner, Frances Topping, and Patricia Stamps were previously elected to six year terms in past elections and will continue to serve on the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission is a seven member body elected to staggered six year terms.
Town Moderator
Elected Town Moderator will serve for two years.
| Town Moderator Candidate | Total Votes |
|---|---|
| David Wilkinson | 2469 |
| Raymond Dreczko | 2247 |
Charter Questions
We are happy to report that Charter questions 7, 9, 10, 15, and 17 were rejected. This means that Town Councils will continue to be elected to two year terms, hearings for ordinance changes will still be advertised in a newspaper, a search committee will still be required when hiring a Town Administrator, Planning Commission elections remain unchanged, and Town Councils will not be able to appoint the same person to two different town positions or boards. The other charter changes were approved. You can read about all these at our post on the Charter questions.
Check the RI Board of Elections site for all the other election results for Charlestown.
November 6, 2024 @ 6:04 pm
Yes, Thank you to all who supported by volunteering to have signs, to canvas, work at polling places or who wrote letters or other jobs. It takes everyone to mount a campaign. We will continue on. The result of the election is disappointing but we must remain engaged and attend town council meetings. Being there one can voice an opinion. Next best is watching online or the video afterwards. This can be accessed on the town website under Agendas and Minutes IQM2 . Click on that to get the calendar of meetings where the agenda, agenda packet , minutes and video are posted.
There are many factors involved in election results. We must determine to keep working for the town we want it to be. Name calling is not who we are. Things can easily slide in if we are not attentive and seek to learn the whole story.
The CCA website is a fount of information.
Keep engaged. Seek the truth and stand up to those who resort to bullying or name calling.