Incumbents take Westport selectmen seats; Amaral wins Board of Health spot

WESTPORT -- Incumbent Selectmen Steven Ouellette and Brian Valcourt were re-elected Tuesday night, posting victories over newcomers Sam Mundel and Sheri Mahoney.

Ouellette was the top vote-getter with 1,355 votes; Valcourt took 1,224 votes, followed by Mahoney with 1,010 and Mundel with 870.

In other races, registered nurse Donna Amaral decisively beat former health board chairman William Harkins. Amaral took 1,353 votes, next to Harkins’ 946 votes. Amaral will succeed Maury May, who decided not to run for re-election.

For a five-year health board seat, newcomer Manny Soares took 1,163 votes, beating former board member David Cole, who posted 1,014 votes.

For a one-year unexpired term on the Planning Board, newcomer Mark Schmid posted a landslide victory with 1,303 votes, next to Joseph Ingoldsby’s 751 votes.

All other candidates were running in uncontested races.

Ouellette will begin his seventh term on the select board, after first being elected in 2002.

Ouellette noted he had no committee nor bank account for re-election. He thanked supporters for holding signs.

“I appreciate the town standing behind me. There is a lot of work to do,” he said, adding, “Much appreciation to all those who helped me on my journey.”

When asked to comment on his re-election, Valcourt’s first word was “relief.” After that, he went on to discuss what needs to be done.

“The town is moving forward in a good direction and it will continue to do so,” he said, adding, “We have a lot going on. The most important thing is getting through this financial crisis and finishing the school building. Those are the priorities; budgeting and this year’s budget crisis is the single most important thing we will have to weather.”

Valcourt served a term from 2009-12, making this new term his third overall.

He mentioned that this select board is the best one he has served with -- acting in a professional, customer service-oriented manner at all times.

Amaral has decades of nursing experience and touted that in her campaign. Still, she was surprised by the results.

“I am surprised but am very thrilled. It is really amazing. I had a good team and good committee that worked really hard and I attribute my success to their hard work,” Amaral said.

Amaral said her focus will be on helping the board wade through the COVID-19 crisis.

“The focus is COVID. I think the Board of Health and selectmen work really well to address all the issues and with following the directives of the Mass Department of Public Health. I am going to come in and focus on what the priorities are right now."

A former UMass Dartmouth nursing professor, Amaral said she hopes to do more community outreach and education. Once the pandemic is over, she hopes to have a wellness Westport event.

“I am very big on education and advocating for the community. That is a lot about what public health should be about,” Amaral said.

The annual Town Election was delayed from April due to COVID-19. Many sent in absentee ballots; all told, 19 percent of registered voters weighed in.