Three-way races are always hard to call
By Will Collette
Unfortunately, the CCA's candidate, Bonnita B. Van Slyke, gets another chance to see how badly she can screw up again after pulling a win out of a tight race.
She beat second-place finisher and political newcomer, Democrat Jill Fonnemann, by only 42 votes, . Jill was my choice and I hope she well try again next year after this strong showing in her first election campaign.
I had expected this election to draw fewer than 1000 voters, but to my surprise that 1,459 Charlestown residents turned out. Still, that's far fewer than the number who typically vote in general elections.
More than 60% of them cast their votes against the CCA so Van Slyke returns with no mandate.
Republican Laura Rom ran a distant third with less than a quarter of the vote. That's pretty much in line with the way elections in 2025 have turned out for Republicans nationwide.
