Brussard won 1,221 of the 2,020 votes cast Saturday. He was the only candidate, but write-in votes drew 792 of the total ballots cast.
EASTON– Thomas W. Brussard will be Easton's next selectmen.
Brussard, who was elected to the Finance Committee last April, won Saturday's special election to fill the vacancy on the Board of Selectmen created by former Selectman Daniel J. Murphy, who resigned in the fall.
Brussard won 1,221 of the 2,020 votes cast Saturday. He was the only candidate, but write-in votes drew 792 of the total ballots cast.
Paul Meehan, a former town police officer, was Brussard's opponent until he withdrew from the race after enduring a backlash from his "Facebook activity." A write-in campaign was organized on his behalf this week.
David Howe, a local businessman, also withdrew from the race.
The town saw a 12-percent turnout, according to the Town Clerk's office.
Prior to his resignation, Murphy initially said he did not plan to seek re-election in April, but stepped down in the middle of October after The Enterprise reported a number of lawsuits that he'd lost in his business dealings and hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax liens assessed against him in the aftermath.
Murphy maintained his decision to resign was not made in response to those findings.