Stoneham Voters Back Means, Reject Override

For months, Stoneham residents saw signs throughout town with the words “Larry Means Moderator,” but when it came to the 2011 town election, Larry Means meant an unexpectedly convincing victory.

In what was the only contested race on the ballot this year, by more than 45 percentage points. Means tallied 2,002 votes to Rotondi's 763.

“I feel great, I worked hard and I think this showed the hard work,” Means said of the victory. “I started late last August, went door to door, and I think the results speak for themselves.”

The moderator race was joined by a comparably resounding result in the , Stoneham’s first override vote since 2007, which was defeated by 40 percentage points this year. The ballot initiative received 1,892 "no" votes to 842 "yes" tallies.

Whether the two results had any correlation is a matter of interpretation.

For Stoneham Town Clerk John Hanright, the result was a sign from the voters on work ethic they expect in their public figures.

“I just think people are watching everyone in government," Hanright said. “They want all elected officials to work hard on their behalf, not just Mike (Rotondi), and I think this is an example to everybody.”

Means said the result of the moderator race didn't have a correlation with the override race due the late announcement that it would be voted upon earlier this year. However, the victorious candidate did think that the result was indicative of a desire among voters for a change in how the town operates.

“It’s a two-sided coin, I think a lot of people are disenchanted with what’s going on, and I showed them an opportunity for a change and they went for the change,” Means said. “I don’t think they’ll be sorry for that, I know I can do a good job.”

With the defeat of the override question, Stoneham’s Board of Selectmen will likely renew its earlier plan to bridge part of its impending budget gap for fiscal 2012 with a that would appropriate $1.6 million above the default budget compared to the $1.9 million that would have been appropriated under the override plan.

Election officials announced 2,821 of Stoneham’s 14,518 registered voters, or 19.4 percent, turned out to vote on Tuesday with three new voters registering at the polls. For a complete breakdown of the vote tallies, check out our .