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By SANDY McGEE CUMBERLAND – While the town’s incumbent mayor apparently emerged the clear winner in Tuesday’s Democratic primary, unofficial tallies in Cumberland were called into question by the town’s board of canvassers.
“Right now, we are wondering why the numbers aren’t coming off the cartridges,” Michael Plasse, chairman of the Board of Canvassers, said shortly after 10:30 p.m. “It’s a computer glitch right now. We may have to physically get the numbers tonight, worst case scenario. ” But, Plasse assured: “The totals for the mayor’s race are about right, but not exact.” Current Mayor Daniel J. McKee, 57, won the race for the town’s top spot taking a convincing 65 percent of the vote during Tuesday Democratic Primary against former mayor David S. Iwuc. According to unofficial results, McKee of 12 Hillside Road got 3,870 votes, while his opponent, Iwuc of 179 Little Pond County Road, garnered 2,140 votes, according to unofficial numbers provided by the Cumberland Board of Canvassers. A jubilant McKee thanked his supporters at Good Times Pub on Diamond Hill Road as the election results came in and it became clear he would be declared the victor. McKee stood on a chair and declared: “It’s safe to say a ‘mayor’ and ‘education’ in the same sentence.” There was no word as of Tuesday if Iwuc planned to hold a write-in campaign for the November General Election.This is the third time McKee has faced off in a Democratic Primary against Iwuc and the fourth election overall. McKee served as mayor from 2001 to 2005 and was elected again in 2006. In 2004, Iwuc won the mayorship after defeating McKee in the Democratic primary and then staving off a write-in challenge from McKee in the general election. Iwuc had sharply criticized McKee’s “Mayoral Academy” proposal, making it a key campaign issue. McKee saw Tuesday’s victory as a sign that Cumberland voters sided with the mayor’s plans for educational reform. He sharply called into question Iwuc’s motives and base of support. “Tonight it’s all about the state unions that tried to influence the election in Cumberland,” McKee said. “They did not care about the students or the parents. They don’t care about the teachers and I do.”A campaign controversy highlighted this particular race only two days before the primary. Iwuc filed a complaint Sunday claiming that McKee’s sister was seen removing campaign flyers, which were hanging on mailboxes on streets in the area of Cumberland High School. McKee said that he ordered the removal of these campaign flyers to stop as soon as he was informed about it. McKee also responded by saying it was a violation of the postal code to drape any campaign literature on mailbox flags.However, this last minute controversy didn’t stop McKee from emerging as the victor. Iwuc also reportedly spent thousands less on his campaign than his opponent: $3,706 to McKee’s $7,452 from Aug. 12 to Sept. 1. Prior to the primary, Iwuc refused an invitation from McKee to attend a series of debates between the two mayoral contenders. McKee, a former member of the Town Council, is the co-owner of the Woonsocket Health and Racquetball Club on Social Street in Woonsocket. He is an active member of the Coalition of Communities Improving Rhode Island, a group of mayors and administrators from several Rhode Island communities. During this past term, he created the town’s Office of Children, Youth and Learning, an education initiative. McKee received a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He was recently appointed to serve on the House Pension Review Commission. McKee also recently made headlines with the announcement of a CVS expansion at Highland Corporate Park. “It’s a great night for our town and Rhode Island,” McKee said Tuesday night.
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