Ushering in a new era in Edgartown politics, Alex Morrison, a 42-year-old, lifelong resident who campaigned on giving voice to a new generation of Islanders, won a stunning and decisive victory for a three-year seat on the select board over incumbent Michael Donaroma, who held power for more than two decades.
The final tally showed Morrison defeating Donaroma by a more than 2-1 margin, securing 469 votes over Donoroma, who had 200. Morrison was followed by a third challenger, Glen Searle, with 251 votes.
That left Donoroma, first elected in 2003, with a surprising rebuke from voters.
Morrison, who was previously chairman of the town’s wastewater commission, and who hails from a family with a history of public service in town, said that he wants to bring a new balance to the select board representing a younger generation, with the other two select board members each serving more than 20 years on the board.
Morrison campaigned on a platform surrounding the preservation of the town of Edgartown’s unique character and history, while ensuring a future for the next generation. His top platform on the campaign was charting a path forward for the town’s comprehensive sewer plan, a sprawling and expensive project, as well as working to help the younger generation maintain a livelihood on the Vineyard, which he said would take an Island-wide effort.
“This is the town I grew up in,” Morrison said Thursday evening. “Preserving a future for my kids to be able to grow up in Edgartown and hopefully one day raise a family of their own is the difference I want to make.”
Morrison, an MVRHS graduate in 2001, comes from a family deeply entrenched in the Edgartown community. His grandfather was the late Robert Carol, former select board member, owner of the Harbor View Hotel and Seafood Shanty, and who helped found The Martha’s Vineyard Times in 1984.
Morrison’s family have also served in the town’s fire department, and helped plan the existing fire station and build the Chappy Ferry.
Morrison was gracious in victory, saying, “I would just like to thank Mike [Donaroma] for all his hard work. Leaving the town in such great standing, it’s a lot easier to grab the helm of a ship that’s run well. He ran for the board to give back to the community he grew up in as a way to help in a changing time.
“A lot of my generation doesn’t live here anymore,” he said. “There’s great opportunity and community to have here, and I didn’t feel like it was their choice to leave. It’s become too expensive.”
Also in Edgartown, Taylor Clifford Pierce, a relative newcomer to town politics, won a five-year seat on the Edgartown Planning Board, edging out Michael Shalett with 469 votes to 413. Pierce had won the endorsement of the MV Beachgoers Access Group, who have worked to keep Chappy beaches open to the public.
Donaroma’s defeat was not the only election night surprise. A relative newcomer was elected to the town clerk position in Oak Bluffs, also over a longtime select board member. In Oak Bluffs, Amy Lee Del Torto ran away with a three-way race to become Oak Bluffs’ new town clerk Thursday. With 538 votes, she defeated challengers Benjamin Robert Clark (225 votes) and Gail Barmakian (156 votes). Barmakian had served on the select board for five terms, deciding not to seek re-election this year to run for the clerk position.
Del Torto said that she was ready to get to work.
“I’m just overwhelmed right now about the support. It was a hard race, and I’m just so honored that I was elected … I’m so excited to get to work for the people of Oak Bluffs,” she told The Times before being sworn in.
Also at Oak Bluffs’ Thursday election, voters approved a ballot question to fund construction of flooding resiliency improvements for the Dukes County Avenue pump station, with 622 votes for and 187 against. Also, James D. Butterick kept his town health board seat with 551 votes against challenger Sherry Leann Countryman’s 269. Sean Patrick DeBettencourt was elected to the town select board with 690 votes; he ran uncontested for the position left open by Barmakian. Dana Elizabeth Hughes won a spot on the parks commission with 594 votes, against Triva C.T. Emery’s 169. And Julia Sullivan Keefe won the wastewater commissioner race with 412 votes against Peter Lowell Hart (260).
In West Tisbury, voters passed a $1.6 million override to fund the upcoming fiscal year operating budget.
The override is to fund its proposed $27.87 million budget for next fiscal year. The rise in the budget was largely due to increases to education expenses and hiring a number of new town positions, like a building maintenance manager.
Nicholas Vukota, Daniel Greenman, and Eunki Seonwoo contributed to this report.
This is like a breath of fresh air, many breaths of fresh air. No one person should ever sit so long. No matter the political affiliation. Just sayin’.
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