The brightly-colored signs are headed for the trash bins. The social media buzz has been replaced with congratulatory messages or sympathetic words. The speeches are over and the voters have spoken.
Candidates who won elections on Tuesday are praising the voters for making the right decision. The losers are trying to figure out what went wrong and what they could have done differently. Signs, speeches, social media narratives may define a race but every election comes down to a single voter, one after another after another, walking into a polling place, picking up a ballot and filling it out.
Congratulations to Lynn Councilor at large Buzzy Barton for topping the ticket in Lynn and reinforcing his popularity with city voters. Fellow incumbents also enjoyed a good election night in Lynn.
Incumbents fared poorly in Saugus with three School Committee incumbents swept out by the spectre of an electorate angry over the wholesale June dismissal of long-time school custodians. Angry janitors and their supporters vowed during the summer to take their revenge in November and they kept their word.
The Saugus Board of Selectmen also earned poor marks with two incumbents knocked out of office. In Peabody, the status quo remains all but the same with Jon Turco moving from his Ward 1 seat to Councilor at large and newcomer Craig Welton taking the ward seat.
Congratulations to all winners, and most of all — to the voters who made their voices heard.