By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

SEEKONK — It wasn’t a landslide, but “Team Incumbent” won the two seats that were up for grabs on the Board of Selectmen in Monday’s town election, and a move to eliminate a longstanding residency requirement also prevailed.

Robert L. Richardson and Michael H. Brady, who employed a successful team strategy once again, were the top two vote-getters over challenger Francis M. Cavaco. With 1,012 votes, Richardson beat Cavaco’s 836 tally by 176 votes, while Brady’s garnered 955 votes, or 119 over Cavaco.
Cavaco, denied a selectmen’s seat for a second time, said he remains committed to “working hard for the community” and vowed to try again next year. “Nobody likes to lose, but I accept that the townspeople cast their votes and made their choice.”
Cavaco added that he will immediately return to his seat on the Finance Committee, where he had been required to take a leave of absence until the election was decided.
Richardson said he was “overjoyed” by his re-election to a second term said he is ready to serve the board for another three years. “I wouldn’t have run again if I wasn’t,” he stated.
Richardson acknowledged the relative closeness of the election, however, and said he considers it as a message from voters that he intends to take seriously.
Brady also said he was happy to be returning to his seat, where he promised to “work just as hard for the next three years as I have for the first three.” He added that he thinks it is almost more difficult to run as an incumbent, defending one’s actions, than it is for a newcomer who can run on a platform of change.
Brady and Richardson also both said that their respective returns to the five-member board will help continue the spirit of stability and cohesiveness that has developed among members. Selectman Carol Bragg, who was at Town Hall along with Selectmen John Turner, agreed, saying she endorsed the two incumbents for that very reason.
Among the other contests, incumbent David A. Pitassi, with 1,017 votes, beat challenger Arthur R. Foulkes with 520 votes for a three-year term on the Board of Assessors; and Lee B. Dunn earned 954 votes to beat John Monk’s 470 votes for a three-year term on the Planning Board.
In a three-way race for two seats on the Library Board of Trustees, Cheryl
A. Faria, with 1,108 votes, and Deborah Bostian, with 738 votes, were the top picks for two three-year terms. Laura Calverley came in third with 642 votes.

The rest of the candidates ran unopposed, with William C. Sloyer winning a five-year-term on the Housing Authority, David F. Viera earning a five-year term on the Planning Board, Sandra Foulkes receiving a 2-year-term on the Planning Board, and William A. Barker gaining a three-year term on the School Committee.

Voters also re-elected Janet Parker to another three-year term as town clerk, David Parker to a three-year-term as town moderator, Philip G. Campbell to a three-year term on the Board of Water Commissioners, and Robert T. Fuller to a one-year term as a Water Commissioner.

Putting an end to what has sometimes been a controversial issue in recent years, voters said “yes” to a ballot question asking whether or not to remove a residency requirement for some of the town’s top department heads from the Home Rule Charter. The vote, 857 to 745, supports the elimination of the directive that had been in place for the town administrator, schools superintendent, police chief, fire chief and superintendent of public works.

A second ballot question, asking for townwide support of a Community Preservation Act that would have placed a surcharge of 1.25 percent on the town’s property tax rate, failed by a margin of 824 to 774. The money would have been used to create a fund to purchase land for open space or to support other preservation uses.

It was a light turn-out at the polls, with just 18.66 percent or 1,688 of the town’s 9,048 eligible voters casting ballots.
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