Mail Ballots Could Change Portsmouth Election Results

With more than 400 mail ballots yet to be counted, Portsmouth voters Tuesday night have voted to keep the Town Council mostly intact, with incumbents Keith Hamilton, David Gleason, Elizabeth Pedro and James Seveney cruising to reelection.

But with less than 50 votes separating seventh-place finisher Michael A. Buddemeyer and Constance L. Harding, and just six votes between Buddemeyer and sixth-place Kevin A. Aguiar, the final results could shift as mail ballots are tallied.

Here’s the final result in the Town Council race:

Keith E. Hamilton (R) — 3,732
David M. Gleason (I) — 3,403
Elizabeth A. Pedro (R) — 3,273
James C. Seveney (D) — 3,224
Joseph W. Robicheau (R) — 3,045
Kevin A. Aguiar (D) — 3,010
Michael A. Buddemeyer (D) — 3,004
Constance L. Harding (I) — 2,955
Allen J. Shers (R) — 2,818
Leonard Barry Katzman (D) — 2,753
Judith J. Staven (I) — 2,652
Tasha M. MacGibbon (D) — 2,122
Elias J. Wheeler (D) — 2,010

In the School Committee race, Portsmouth voters handily gave Frederick W. Faerber III, an Independent, the most votes with 4,111 -- far and above the next highest vote getter, John L. Wojichowski, a Democrat, who earned 3,539 votes.

Portsmouth voters were to choose four names from the pool of six candidates and the surprise of the night could be the loss of David Croston (D), who finished last with 3,079 votes.

Croston had served as the School Committee chairman until late summer after frictions between Croston and school administrators boiled over thanks in part to an effort by Faerber to detail what was described as a pattern of interference by Croston in school operations.

In an interview, Faerber said he was stunned to learn he was the top vote getter and said he regrets some of the confrontation earlier this year and would have approached the situation differently.

Faerber said he didn’t campaign much and as an Independent, he didn’t have the backing of a town party. He also thought Croston supporters would come out in large numbers in part because of Croston’s efforts to replace the turf, track and field and tennis courts at the high school, known as the T3 project.

“Mr. Croston has done a lot for the town and the schools and he deserves a lot of credit for that,” Faerber said.

Also on the winning end of the School Committee race was 18-year-old Jessica Lineberger (D), who is credited with working hard on the campaign trail. She ended up with 3,202 votes -- 223 votes fewer than Thomas Vadney (R), who garnered 3,425 votes.

Erica Medley, a Republican, finished with 3,134 votes.

The closest race of the night was for town clerk. Joanne Mower and Jennifer West are virtually tied with Mower, a Republican, holding a 43 vote advantage over West, a Democrat.