NORTHBOROUGH – A new face is coming to the Northborough Board of Selectmen.
Voters headed to the polls on Tuesday. Unofficial results then released on Tuesday night showed Mitch Cohen with a lead in a three-way race for a seat on the board.
In winning this race, Cohen will unseat incumbent Selectman Leslie Rutan, who is the board’s current Vice Chair.
A self-professed “local government nerd,” Cohen spent six years as a selectman in Douglas until 2012.
Cohen later moved to Northborough and has since served in multiple roles in town government, including a position as Vice Chair of the Library Board of Trustees. He is also served as Chair of the Municipal Code and By-Law Committee and was a member of the Fire Station Feasibility Study Committee.
Rutan has served on the Board of Selectmen since 2004. Prior to her election, Rutan was a member and chair of the Northborough School Committee from 2000 through 2004.
Cohen led in the unofficial count with 1,085 votes.
Rutan came in second place with 886 votes.
Tom Dalton amassed 37 votes.
Planning Board, School Committee results
As Cohen led the unofficial tally in the selectmen race, William Pierce led in the race to replace longtime member Michelle Gillespie on the Planning Board, with unofficial results showing Pierce taking the win over Jon Lien.
Incumbent Joan Frank held the advantage in a race against William Barlow Redfern II for a Northborough seat on the Regional School Committee, according to unofficial Northborough results.
Southborough votes will also be counted in the Regional School Committee tally, though. Those results were not available as of 9:15 p.m.
Back in Northborough, Bryce Adam MacKnight appeared set to win a term on the Northborough K-8 School Committee after a campaign that also saw Gigi Howell throw her hat in the ring.
MacKnight rises to the Northborough School Committee after incumbent Keith Lebel opted against running for re-election.
As the School Committee, Planning Board and Board of Selectmen settled contested races, a pair of uncontested races were also on the ballot. Among them, Fred George secured another term as Moderator while Matthew Spencer won a new term as one of Southborough’s representatives on the Regional School Committee.
Spencer is a newcomer to that board, replacing Daniel Kolenda, who did not run for re-election this year.
Turnout in this election was 17.38%, according to unofficial results.
Full results
BOARD OF SELECTMEN (Vote 1)
Leslie Rutan – 886
Mitch Cohen – 1,085
Tom Dalton – 37
PLANNING BOARD (Vote 1)
Jon Lien – 966
Bill Pierce – 1,012
Write-in – 3
SCHOOL COMMITTEE (Vote 1)
Gigi Howell – 703
Bryce MacKnight – 1,143
Write-in – 7
REGIONAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE – NORTHBOROUGH CANDIDATE (Vote 1)*
Joan Frank – 1,272
William Barlow Redfern II – 665
Write-in – 3
REGIONAL SCHOOL COMMITTEE – SOUTHBOROUGH CANDIDATE (Vote 1)*
Matthew Spencer – 1,442
Write-in – 17
TOWN MODERATOR (Vote 1)
Fred George – 1,475
Write-in – 237
*Southborough votes will also be counted in the Regional School Committee tally. Those results were not available as of 9:15 p.m.
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