Holbrook Voters Reject Treasurer Change, Elect Mix of New and Familiar Leaders in Annual Election

Voters in Holbrook chose to keep the treasurer/collector in an elected role and elected some new and familiar faces to town boards in today’s annual town election.

Voting booths sit empty after a day of ballot casting in Holbrook’s annual town election.

According to the unofficial results, 1,005 people cast ballots for the select board, town clerk, a ballot question, and more. 

The ballot question asking whether to make the treasurer/collector role appointed or keep it an elected position was defeated by 187 votes. 

362 people voted yes and 549 voted no. Current Treasurer/Collector Tiffany Sheehan will serve another three-year term. 

“I was confident in how the results were gonna turn out. The Town of Holbrook has repeatedly voted this question down,” Sheehan said.

For the select board race, current Chair Patty Conway and current Planning Board Chair Chris Eddington were elected to three-year seats, defeating former Select Board Member Dan Lee. 

Conway received 552 votes, Eddington received 548, and Lee received 373.

“I’m grateful to be elected,” Conway said. “I’m looking forward to working with Chris Eddington.”

Eddington said he is “excited for what the future of Holbrook will look like.”

In the town clerk race, Meaghan Walsh Harrington, vice president of global human resources talent enablement at State Street Corp., defeated current Assistant Town Clerk Pam Solis. 

Harrington received 523 votes to Solis’ 438 votes, according to unofficial results.

“I feel so appreciative of all the support I’ve gotten from the town, from family, from my friends,” Harrington said. “I’m just really honored that people came out and voted the way they did.”

Harrington said she is looking forward to working with Solis in the clerk’s office.

Races for the school committee, planning board, town moderator, and public library trustee were all uncontested. No formal candidates ran for the board of health or board of assessors.

Barbara Davis and Fred White will each serve another three-year term on the school committee. Eric Helfer and Ted Bertrand will continue serving on the planning board for five-year terms. 

Susan Murray will serve a three-year term on the library board of trustees. Current Town Moderator James Curran will serve another three-year term.

Voter turnout was a key topic among candidates in their interviews with HCAM after the results came in. 

About 11.6% of registered voters in Holbrook cast ballots in today’s election. The 1,005 votes came from a total of 8,669 registered voters, according to unofficial results.

“I know it’s not a huge percentage of the town, but when you look at the past two years… to get over 1,000, as it turned out to be, is good,” Conway said. 

Harrington emphasized how a small number of votes in a local race can make a difference.

“I saw a thing earlier today that says in a small town, every vote matters, because even a handful of votes can make or break an election,” she said.

The full recording of HCAM’s election night coverage can be found here.