Council to Have Four New Faces in January

Nearly half the City Council will be new in January after voters filled three seats where the incumbent was not seeking reelection and did not reelect a fourth councilor.

In Ward 6, former Alderman John Frates defeated one-term councilor Brett Schetzsle, 1,200-969 votes. Frates is a former member of the city’s Board of Alderman, which is now known as the City Council, and Schetzsle ran an unsuccessful run for state representative before being elected to the City Council two years ago.

Ward 6 includes the Centerville and Beverly Farms neighborhoods.

Voter turnout across the city was 40 percent, with 10,413 of the city's 25,431 registered voters going to the polls. Turnout was highest in Ward 4, where 51 percent of the 1,946 of the ward's 3,804 voters went to the polls. The ward largely consists of the Beverly Cove neighborhood.

In Ward 1, longtime Conservation Commission chairman David Lang was elected to the City Council seat, defeating Michael Rotondo. Ward 1 includes the Ryal Side neighborhood. Lang replaces Maureen Troubetaris, who had been the council’s longest serving member, who retired. Lang emerged from September’s preliminary election on top of a field of five candidates and on Tuesday again topped the ticket, 898-741 over Michael Rotondo.

Wes Slate has represented Ward 2 for the past six years but left the City Council to run for mayor. On Tuesday, voters chose Estelle Rand, the manager of the Beverly Farmers Market, to the seat. She defeated Bryant Ayles 827-558.  Ward 2 includes most of the downtown.

Ward 3 Councilor Jim Latter and Ward 4 Councilor Scott Houseman both breezed to reelection, with Latter received 70 percent of the vote over Scott Hunt and Houseman receiving 63 percent of the vote over Scott Mullady. Ward 5 Councilor Don Martin was reelected uncontested.

The complete results of the City Council election, from City Clerk Kathy Connolly, are below. When percentages fall short of 100 percent, the remaining votes were a combination of blank ballots or write-ins. The candidates who were elected are in bold.

At-large

Paul Guanci – 7,591

Jason Silva – 5,549

Matt St. Hilaire – 4,125

Todd Murphy – 4,081

Todd Rotondo – 2,599

Ward 1

David Lang – 898; 53%

Michael Rotondo - 741; 43%

Ward 2

Estelle Rand – 827; 57%

Bryant Ayles – 558; 38%

Ward 3

Jim Latter – 842; 70%

Scott Hunt – 266; 22% 

Ward 4

Scott Houseman – 1,227; 63%

John Mullady – 614; 32%

Ward 5

Don Martin – 1,440; 80%

Ward 6

John Frates – 1,200; 52%

Brett Schetzsle – 969; 42%