Returning Councilors Say Election Was a Vote of Confidence

Once again, city councilor and Treadwell's Ice Cream owner Tom Gould topped the ticket.

Gould grabbed 5,834 votes to earn a second term in a low turnout city election Tuesday. He said he was "thrilled" to be the top vote-getter again and looking forward to working with his returning colleagues and some new members to the City Council next year.

Gould, who's the current council president, said "progress" was the main thing resonating with voters. "It's all about being positive and getting things done," he said.

A main focus for the new year will be supporting further efforts to create a bustling, thriving downtown, said Gould.

Joining Gould in the remaining four at-large seats on the council will be former state Rep. Tom Walsh, who finished second Tuesday with 5,110 votes, and incumbents Dave Gravel (5,041), Anne Manning-Martin (4,164) and Mike Garabedian (3,796).

Walsh won the seat left vacant by Jim Liacos' upcoming retirement this year and says he's "excited" to return to the council.

It was 30 years ago when Walsh, a recent college graduate was first elected to the City Council in 1983. He served two terms before being elected to the House of Representatives where he spent eight years. He then served a stint on the School Committee and last ran for office (mayor) in 2001.

Times have changed and there are a lot of new faces in the city and the political scene, but Walsh doesn't anticipate too much of a learning curve.

"There are a lot of positive things going on in the city and [positive] things coming up," Walsh said. He added he wasn't coming into the race with any particular expectations and was just focused on knocking on as many doors as possible.

Gravel and Manning-Martin were returned for their fourth terms on the council while Garabedian earned a seventh term. Library Trustee Margaret Tierney, local businessman Scott Frasca, Russ Donovan and Peter Bakula finished out of the running in the at-large race.

"I think the goal is to take these initiatives that we've started, particularly with downtown improvement, revitalization of Centennial Park, cleaning Crystal Lake, building a middle school and really advancing forward now and use this as sort of a jumping point," Gravel said.

Gravel said the main things he's heard from voters on the campaign trail is maintaining low taxes in the city while keeping up streets and sidewalks and public safety.

"I look forward to working another two years for the betterment of the city," Manning-Martin said, adding that voters want elected officials "who speak their language" and represent their interests -- she believes Tuesday's results reflect that.

"I have a lot of big ideas that need some fine tuning," she added. "Expect some exciting things."

Garabedian, grateful for yet another term, likewise said the city and council has been making progress on some big issues and he sees Tuesday's results as a show of trust in the job they're doing.

"People recognize that the council is doing a good job," Garabedian said, adding that he's glad to have Walsh join the council, who will bring a lot of experience and decorum with him.

Overall turnout for the day was 24 percent, somewhat lower than the 28 percent City Clerk Tim Spanos had predicted. Total registered voters in Peabody is 35,392. Th

Mayor Ted Bettencourt and School Committee members Beverley Griffin Dunne, Tom Rossignoll and Jarrod Hochman were all unopposed this year, as well as Light Commissioner Charles Bonfanti.

Jean Ahearn and Don McAllister each won another term on the Board of Library Trustees while Stephanie Najjar and Paul Misci were elected to two open seats on the board.