By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET – Incumbent School Committeewoman Amy Breault Zolt may be the winner of a close write-in vote for a seventh spot on the School Committee. But the outcome could still change as a result of 53 write-in ballots which had apparently been mixed in with others and not counted, Board of Canvassers Registrar Ken Magill said Thursday.

Zolt received 829 write-in votes, while 811 were cast for former School Committee Member Raymond J. Spooner Jr. The next highest write-in vote-getter was School Committee Chairman Gordon Gould, who received 275 votes.
According to Magill, ballots containing write-in votes were to be put in an envelope separate from others. However, it appeared that some of them had become mixed in at some polling places, including all of those write-in ballots cast at Geneva Plaza on Dartmouth Street. Magill said the Board of Elections had not allowed the blue bins containing ballots from this location to be opened due to the fact that a recount in the District 5 City Council race between Jean Philippe Barros and Mary Bray may be requested.
After the counting of absentee ballots completed Thursday, Barros had been declared the victor by 64 votes.
Magill said the erroneous placement of write-in ballots at Geneva Plaza was discovered through a tape machine keeping track of the ballots cast.
“We know from the tape that there were 53 write-in ballots,” he said. “We didn’t get a write-in envelope, so they must be in the blue bin.”
The make-up of the School Committee had earlier seemed to guarantee victory for seven unopposed Democratic candidates, including newcomer Matthew F. Gunnip, until he withdrew his candidacy on Friday afternoon, leaving the seventh spot open for a write-in candidate.
The rest of the School Committee now includes incumbents David A. Coughlin, James T. Chellel, Joanne Bonollo and Nicole A. Nordquist, along with newcomers Raymond W. Noonan and Joseph C. Knight. Bonollo was the top vote-getter in this year’s election.
Breault Zolt said that after losing in the Democratic primary to the endorsed slate of candidates, she had been encouraged to run again by friends and supporters. With three out of her own four children in the city’s school system, she said this is what drivers her to serve on the board. “It’s all about the kids,” she said.
The 26-year-old Gunnip, a social caseworker for the state Department of Children Youth and Families, abruptly withdrew his candidacy late Friday afternoon. While his name still appeared on the ballot – and he received 10,763 votes – any votes that were cast for him were not certified. Instead, the write-in candidate with the next highest votes was considered the winner.
Late Monday, Gunnip issued a statement saying that it had recently come to his attention that, under the federal Hatch Act, state employees whose positions are funded in whole or in part by federal dollars are prohibited from holding partisan elected office. He said that his position is funded by nearly 40 percent federal dollars, and he had been notified by legal counsel for DCYF that if he continued his campaign, the department would pursue legal action to protect itself from a potential violation of the Hatch Act..
Gunnip added that, while he could have continued as a candidate, a review of previous Hatch Act violation cases and consultation with an attorney caused him to believe he could lose his job if he did do.
According to a 2007 ruling by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, “persons covered by the Hatch Act...are subject to certain protections and restrictions with respect to their political activity.” While on one hand, covered employees are protected from being “coerced into political actity,” the Act also prohibits such employees from being candidates for public office in partisan elections.”
The 2007 ruling states that “covered employees are those whose principal position or job is with a state, county or municipal executive agency, and whose job duties are “in connection with” programs financed in whole or in part by loans or grants made by the United States or an agency thereof.”
Gunnip said, “I was extremely honored to be a candidate and I am proud of the campaign I ran. I wish to thank the people of Pawtucket for their votes in the primary. It was humbling to have so many people believe in me and support me in this endeavor.” He added that he intends to continue serving in his role on Juvenile Hearing Board.
Gunnip’s sudden move brought out several last-minute hopefuls. A few weeks before his resignation, Breault Zolt had announced that she would be campaigning as a write-in candidate. Breault Zolt, who had been seeking her fourth term, was edged out by newcomer Gunnip in September’s Democratic primary.
The day before the election, Spooner, a former School Committee member who was lost in the Democratic primary for a city council-at large seat, and incumbent School Committee Chairman Gordon Gould both announced they were also courting write-in votes.
Spooner, 47, of 64 Benjamin St., was active on the School Committee from 1997-2004, and served for four years as chairman. He is a manager of a metals company.
Gould, of 39 Bowen St., who has served on the School Committee for 9 years, had decided not to seek re-election due to his wife’s health problems. However, he said his wife, who he has been married to for 50 years, had encouraged him to run again after reading of Gunnip’s withdrawal.

-- With reports from Staff Writer Vinaya Saksena

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