Cornwall primary win assures Bramley a seat

CORNWALL — By a more than 3 to 1 margin, Richard Bramley held on to his selectman’s seat this week, defeating Richard Griggs in Tuesday’s primary.

Of Cornwall’s 371 registered Democrats, just one more than half came out on a stormy day to take part in what may be the town’s first municipal election primary. The results were 102-34.

Griggs heard the news while attending a public hearing at the school. His first reaction was disappointment, but not surprise, and he was relieved.

Bramley, an incumbent, was endorsed at the July caucus, which Griggs missed. By the time he petitioned to run, time was running out to get on the November municipal election ballot. Griggs opted to force a party primary. It sparked criticism of the additional cost. More importantly, residents objected to the selectman’s race being decided by only a portion of registered voters.

Was the outcome of the primary vote based on the candidates, or the circumstances?

Griggs believes the circumstances played a part, but is not dwelling on the outcome.

“I may have lost, but that’s not going to stop me from going to the selectmen’s meetings. My goal is to make people more aware of what goes on in town, and I can continue to do that. I urge my fellow Cornwallians to go to at least one meeting in their lifetime,� Griggs said, adding, “I got a lot of support from the other [political] parties, and who knows, there is always the option of a write-in vote in November.�

If he had an inkling he was not going to win the election, it was when he got news earlier that day that he took second place in the Cornwall Fire Department’s cow chip bingo contest held at Saturday’s Agricultural Fair. Apparently, that used up his luck.

“I won $20, so something is going right.�

“I’m glad we have that resolved so the selectmen can get on with the projuects in town,� Bramley said. “Also I hope Richard Griggs continues to donate his energies to the town because he does a lot of good things for the town.�

“Both Richards put themselves out there for the town,� said one member of a voting couple. “We voted for Richard Griggs because he and [his wife] Bianca are good friends of ours, and we like the way they are working on new things for Cornwall.�

This is the first election to use only the scanner to record votes. It debuted with mechanical machines at the May Region One budget referendum. It will be the only option in November.

Privacy has been the only concern raised. One resident said she was careful to insert her ballot facedown into the scanner. Like many, she was uneasy about her vote being seen. Voters carry marked paper ballots in a folder from privacy booths to a single scanning machine (that looks much like a copier). Since the process is new, an election worker offers assistance at the scanner, and may not be able to help but see how someone voted.

But voters also said the process was so simple, the need for help will soon be a thing of the past. And the scanner will take ballots upside down, backwards or forwards.

As long as the machine sucks in the ballot, the vote will count.

Registrars and election workers are overall very happy with the system. As voters become accustomed to it, fewer workers will be required. And the end of a long election day has been shortened considerably. Instead of tallying mechanical votes and lengthy paperwork, the scanner puts all the results on a tape that resembles on cash register receipt.

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