AMHERST — An Amherst parent who strongly supported efforts to build co-located elementary schools at the Wildwood School site narrowly won a seat on the Amherst School Committee at Tuesday’s town elections, based on unofficial results provided by the town clerk.
In a tight race, Peter Demling, of Atwater Circle, edged Jennifer Page, of Potwine Lane, by a 2,161-to-2,104 count.
In other races, incumbents carried the day by easily turning back challenges for a second seat on the School Committee, two positions for the Select Board, and three positions as trustees for the Jones Library.
Some 29 percent of 16,569 registered active voters cast ballots Tuesday.
If the results hold, Demling will join Erik Nakajima on the School Committee. Nakajima, who was appointed to the committee last year, outpaced Robert Greeney, 3,338 to 804, to earn the right to complete the remaining two years of the term.
Though the school project is not moving forward, Demling said he is pleased with the support it received, and will work toward finding an alternative plan.
“A clear majority of people want this project, and a large number were willing to change their minds from the first vote, which shows amazing flexibility and willingness to learn going forward,” Demling said.
Demling said he is pleased that there was never any negativity during the campaign against Page, and that this should bode well for his being able to work with other School Committee members, as well as parents and administrators with various viewpoints.
“The fact it was so close, with so many people involved, yet real civility, is a testament to how Amherst should do politics,” Demling said.
As important, Demling said, the election was an indication of the passion parents have for the schools, driven by a focus on the school project referendum vote.
“To me, the theme of the night was civic engagement. The turnout was tremendous,” Demling said.
Reached at home, Page said she wasn’t prepared to concede the election.
But even if she is not able to serve on the committee, Page said she pledges to be involved in school matters, help to solve problems and bring the community together on a school project that can win widespread support.
For Jones Library trustees, Christopher Hoffmann and Alexandra Lefebvre earned 1,883 and 1,810 votes, respectively, outdistancing the 1,491 and 1,401 votes for challengers Kitty Axelson-Berry and Terry Johnson. A third incumbent, Lee Edwards, tallied 2,119 votes to the 1,175 for challenger Edwin Wilfert.
Hoffmann said he is pleased that the incumbents swept to victory, as the board has unanimously supported a project to expand and renovate the library. The vote means this will continue to be possible.
The next step will be to advocate the project to voters and move it toward a submission to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.
“We want to go forward with a renovation and are looking forward to working with Town Meeting,” Hoffmann said.
The challengers criticized the project as damaging the integrity of the original 1928 building and demolishing the early 1990s addition.
Johnson said she was disappointed in the outcome, but called it a great learning experience. She will next focus on action the town’s legislative body takes and how historic preservation of the Jones plays out. “I think the next step is Town Meeting will need to a make a decision on whether the project should move forward,” Johnson said.
Andrew Steinberg, with 2,755, and Constance Kruger and, 2,635, won second terms on the Select Board, more than doubling the vote total for Greeney, who collected 1,281 votes.
Incumbent moderator James Pistrang and incumbent Elector under the Oliver Smith Will John Coull both won reelection without challengers for the one-year posts, while newcomers Michael Burkart and Paige Wilder took five-year posts on the Amherst Housing Authority and Amherst Redevelopment Authority, respectively.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
