Thursday, 4:30 PM
Three incumbents ousted in Newton
By Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff
Two incumbents on the Newton Board of Aldermen and one veteran school committee member lost their seats in Tuesday's election.
Ward 3 at-large incumbent Leslie Burg was narrowly ousted, with 3,865 votes to Greer Tan Swiston's 3,952. The race was Swiston's second run for the seat. In the local Ward 5 alderman's race, newcomer William F. Brandel defeated incumbent Christine Snow Samuelson, 1,139 to 482.
Ward 3 at-large incumbent Ted Hess-Mahan was the election's top vote-getter, with 4,231 votes.
In the Ward 1 School Committee race, newcomer Geoffrey Epstein defeated school committeewoman Gail Glick, 4,092 to 3,015.
In other races, Ward 7 voters returned longtime at-large alderman Verne Vance to office (2,960 votes) as well as Sydra Schnipper (3,886 votes). They defeated challenger Jeffrey Seideman (2,960 votes).
An incumbent and a political newcomer won two at-large seats in Ward 8, filling an opening left by the departure of Richard Lipof. John D. Freedman received 3,491 votes; incumbent Mitchell Fischman received 3,324. The two defeated Myra Tattenbaum (2,934 votes) and Thomas Sheff (1,885 votes).
In the Ward 1 at-large alderman's race, incumbent Carleton P. Merrill was reelected with 3,296 votes. Newcomer Allan Ciccone Jr. received 3,158 votes, filling a seat vacated by Ben Weisbuch. The two defeated challengers Janet Sterman (2,851 votes) and Al Cecchinelli (1,943 votes).
According to city election officials, 17 percent of registered voters turned out, or 8,899 of 51,719 registered voters.
