DeBartolomeis Wins Re-Election in Milford

Dino DeBartolomeis has won re-election to an 11th term on the Milford Board of Selectmen, capturing about 58 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results.

With all precincts counted, including absentee ballots, DeBartolomeis captured 1,682 votes to Michael Denice's 1,211. DeBartolomeis carried each of the town's eight precincts. [Editor's Note: see attached PDF for all results.]

The election drew 2,954 of Milford's registered voters, nearly 18 percent of the electorate. This was a higher turnout than last year, in which fewer races were contested. Last year, only 12.5 percent of registered voters participated, drawn to a selectman's race with 71 percent of the vote.

This year's race for selectman pitted DeBartolomeis, a 30-year incumbent, against Denice, a 26-year-old challenger, who is perhaps best known in Milford as the brother of the late Matthew Denice, a motorcyclist who was struck and killed in August 2011 by a man who police say was driving while intoxicated, and living in the U.S. illegally.

The two candidates disagreed on, among other things, whether crime is a problem in Milford, and whether the town could do more to address impacts of illegal immigration.

, 59, who arrived at shortly before the vote was tallied, said he appreciated the continued support of Milford voters.

"I tried to run a very positive campaign, on the issues." he said. "The people of Milford have always been very good to me, very supportive."

DeBartolomeis attributed his win to his accessibility, a 30-year track record in town government and willingness to work with people. "You have to judge a person by what he's done, not just by what he's said."

, a contractor at Aer Lingus, captured 42 percent of the vote in his first race for public office. He left Town Hall shortly after the unofficial count was revealed, and could not be reached immediately for comment Monday. He later posted a notice to his followers on Facebook, thanking them for their support:

"It was a hard fought battle and the results were close but sadly I did not win the election," he wrote. "However, our voices were heard loud and clear and I think this was one of the closest selectman elections in many, many years. Every vote does count and voting is your chance to have your voice heard, unfortunately only 17% of the voters showed up at the polls today. To my supporters and volunteers you are the best. When I was exhausted it was your encouragement and desire for change that motivated me to dig deep to find the strength to continue to campaign. From the bottom of my heart I thank you all."

In the race for School Committee, incumbent as well as first-time candidates and won election to three available seats.

Walsh captured a second term on the seven-member board with 1,710 votes. Harrison, a manager at Bank of America, had 1,482 votes, while Quattrochio had 1,435 votes. Write-in candidate who announced his candidacy a week before the election — collected 742 votes.

In the three-way race for Library Trustees, incumbents Richard Person and Lisa Bacchiocchi were re-elected.