Barrows, Naughton to vie for First Bristol in November
By Josh Press and Gabriel Leiner/ Staff Writers
Friday, September 22, 2006
Tuesday's primary saw 16.5 percent of Norton voters come out to the polls to choose candidates for two state representative contests, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate as well as a new district attorney for Bristol County.
Following a landslide victory Tuesday, Foxboro Democrat Claire Naughton will face Mansfield Republican Fred "Jay" Barrows in November's state election in the race for the 1st Bristol District representative seat.
The district covers precincts 3, 4, and 5 in Norton, precincts 1, 3 and 6 of Mansfield and the entire town of Foxboro.
"I'm thrilled with the support I had," said Naughton.
Naughton garnered 2,592, or 60 percent, of the district's vote, ahead of her opponents Paul Feeney of Foxboro, who got 1,210 votes (28 percent), and Matthew Donovan of Foxboro, who 487 votes (11 percent).
In Norton specifically, where 1,752 registered voters cast a ballot, Naughton earned 568 votes to Feeney's 232 and Donovan's 83.
"I had a very organized campaign, I think that was a great part of (winning the election)," said Naughton. "I think the fact I did so much door-to-door, have lived in the district for such a long time and have been active in the district too (were factors as well)."
Naughton, who lost a close race to current representative Virginia "Ginny" Coppola, R-Foxboro, in February's special election said that race may have played into her win as well.
"I think people still know who I am," she laughed.
Naughton, 61, has been a resident of Foxboro since 1971. For the past seven years, she has been the Democratic State Committee's representative for Foxboro, Mansfield and Norton. In Foxboro, she also was the chairwoman of the Foxboro Registrar of Voters board and Democratic Town Committe, and a member of the Historical Society. She taught family and consumer science in Brookline, Attleboro and Warwick, R.I. schools before retiring in April 2005.
Over the next seven weeks heading into the Nov. 7 election, Naughton said she will not approach her race against Barrows any differently than the way she campaigned to earn her party's nomination for the district seat.
"I'll do exactly what I've been doing," she said. "I'm going to keep on going door-to-door, keep on talking to people and send the message I had before. We need to bring in more (local) money for our schools, fire and police departments. And last year, the state had an extra $1.4 billion, which (locally) could help lower property taxes."
Barrows, who did not have an opponent in the primary, said he is looking forward to a good race and will continue to actively campaign as he said he has been since he announced his candidacy in June.
"Obviously with the outcome, the folks will have a clear choice between the candidates," said Barrows, who owns and operates Barrows Insurance Agency in Mansfield. "I'm going to continue to go door-to-door - I've been doing that aggressively since my announcement - and continue to make calls within the district."
Barrows, a lifelong resident of Mansfield, has served as chairman of the Hockomock Area YMCA, is president of the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce that serves Foxboro, Mansfield, and Norton and as a member of the Mansfield Housing Authority.
Coppola, who filled the seat after her husband Michael Coppola passed away, endorsed Barrows for her seat June 1. In Foxboro, Barrows has received endorsements from Mike Stanton, chairman of the Foxboro Board of Selectman, and former Foxboro selectmen Charles Masison and Kevin Weinfeld.
Mansfield supporters include selectmen Michael McCue, David McCarter and Lou Amoruso. Norton Selectman Robert Kimball has also expressed his support.
"It's going to be a great race," said Barrows. "I've never been a shrinking violet and I'm not going away. It's what I've built my reputation on. I'll be respectful and just point to our differences."
Six candidates vying to represent Norton's precinct 1 in the State House were narrowed down to two by voters Tuesday.
The four-way Democratic primary for a chance to run for the 4th Bristol District seat was won by Steven D'Amico of Seekonk, and the two-candidate race on the Republican side was won by Steven Howitt.
D'Amico said he was happy he won the nomination, but not very surprised.
"I think what distinguished me from all the other candidates was that I've dedicated most of my life to getting involved in the community and making a difference," said D'Amico. "That track record of things like getting school renovated and taking initiatives really shows people that my ideas are more than just talk."
D'Amico said he was proud to have been the leading candidate in Norton and proud to have led in votes in his home town Seekonk.
"Norton often gets forgotten but I'm glad I didn't ignore it," said D'Amico. "We had a campaign blitz in Norton and it looks like it paid off. Each person and each community has its own needs."
Since his campaign began three months ago, D'Amico said he has campaigned almost every day, and now that he won the primary, expects to regroup before campaigning again.
Overall, D'Amico won 1,710 votes (38 percent), Bernier 1,302 (29 percent), Whelan 750 (17 percent), and Marquis 719 (16 percent).
Making his second bid for the 4th Bristol seat as a Republican, Howitt beat opponent Brian Langevin to win the republican primary, and won in Norton by a count of 35 to 11.
A graduate of Boston University and former Seekonk Selectman and Planning Board member, Howitt tallied 563 total votes (75 percent), roughly triple the 22-year-old Langevin's total of 192 (25 percent).
Both the Swansea Republican Town Committee and Lt. Governor Kerry Healey have endorsed Howitt.
Howitt will face D'Amico for the 4th Bristol District representative seat, which has been vacated by 25-year incumbent Phil Travis.
Howitt could not be reached for comment.
In the race for Bristol County district attorney, Sam Sutter of Fall River unseated 16-year incumbent Paul Walsh.
Sutter got only 591 votes to Walsh's 947 in Norton but overall collected 33,912 (51 percent) to narrowly defeat Walsh, who got 32,063 votes (49 percent).
In a three-way race for the Bristol County Commissioner seat, 16-year incumbent Maria Lopes defeated challengers Gregory DeMelo and Perry Long.
Lopes garnered 25,612 votes (44 percent) to DeMelo's 20,138 (34 percent) and Long's 13,041 (22 percent). In Norton, Lopes collected 972 votes to DeMelo's 264 and Long's 173.
The Bristol County Commission oversees a $22 million budget and represents four cities and 16 towns including Easton, Mansfield and Norton.
Similar to statewide results, Norton voters favored Deval Patrick of Milton in the governor's race.
Patrick received 878 votes in Norton, more than Christopher Gabrieli of Boston with 490 and Thomas Reilly of Watertown with 384.
In Massachusetts, Patrick received 452,393 votes, to Gabrieli's 248,095 and Reilly's 210,389.
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