Harrington tops incumbent John Connolly for SB seat

For the second consecutive year, a political newcomer vying for a seat on the town’s top executive board was the clear-cut winner at the polls in Canton’s annual town election.

Susan Harrington

This time, it was Sue Harrington — a longtime resident of the town but someone who had never before held elective office — emerging victorious in the race for Select Board over 12-time incumbent John Connolly.

Running on a platform centered on accountability, oversight, government modernization and rebuilding trust with citizens, Harrington would go on to top the ticket in all seven precincts, winning by a margin of 3,264 to 1,820 with more than 60 percent of the vote.

“Needless to say, we are thrilled with the outcome,” she said on the morning after the election. “You can never be sure, but certainly we were feeling some pretty good vibes just from talking to people and we were cautiously optimistic going into election night.”

Harrington felt what resonated most with voters was the fresh perspective that she offered. “Probably the most frequent comment I heard from people in all segments of Canton, old and young, townies and newer residents, was a desire for change,” she said. “I heard a lot of people express concerns about how the town’s reputation has devolved and needs to be restored.”

Recognizing that she has “a lot to learn” as a first-time officeholder, Harrington said her first priority is to be a good listener while also continuing to do her part to heal the divisions that exist in the town. “Even though there may be differences,” she said, “we can treat each other cordially and with respect.”

As for Connolly, Tuesday’s election defeat marks the end of an era — one that began in 1983 with his election to the School Committee and continued throughout his 36-year run as a member of the Select Board. A lifelong resident and CHS graduate, his service was guided by his unabashed love for his hometown and a desire to see it thrive. Throughout his tenure he served multiple stints as chair, ushering the town through significant growth and change while playing a key role in attracting new businesses and securing approvals for several major town projects.

In addition to Harrington’s win on Tuesday, incumbent Planning Board member David McCarthy also scored a convincing victory in the other contested race on the ballot over challenger Hamilton Rodrigues. The current chair of the board, McCarthy also won all seven precincts to secure a third consecutive term.

The other decision facing voters this year was a nonbinding ballot question regarding a proposal to move local elections from April to November so that they coincide with state and federal elections. Voters were overwhelmingly in favor of the measure, with the ‘yes’ votes outnumbering the ‘no’s’ by a 2-1 margin.

The proposal, spearheaded by a group called “Canton Residents to Move the Vote,” will now go to a vote at the 2025 Annual Town Meeting in May, and then it would be up to the Select Board to decide whether to advance the measure to the state legislature via a home rule petition.

Besides McCarthy in the Planning Board race, the other incumbents reelected on Tuesday in uncontested races were Kristian Merenda (School Committee), Bill Galvin (Board of Assessors), Anjali Bayliss (Board of Health), and library trustees Peg Mead, Emily Prigot and Nancy Connery. Additionally, first-time candidate Amanda Ryder was elected to a three-year term on the School Committee in place of Maureen Moran, who chose not to run again this year, while Sonja Grauds, who had been serving on the School Committee in an appointed capacity following the resignation of Laura Arboleda, was elected to serve the remaining one year left on Arboleda’s original term.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Apr 10 2025. Filed under News, Town Election, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.