LEYDEN — The Selectboard will have two new faces, as residents voted to elect Katherine DiMatteo and Glenn Caffery to the board, following a four-candidate race.
The change of the Selectboard’s composition comes after a turbulent year for the town, which saw both longtime Police Chief Dan Galvis retire and longtime Selectboard member Jeffrey Neipp resign. Erica Jensen, who served a one-year term on the board, declined to run again, leaving DiMatteo and Caffery to join Chair Bill Glabach.
According to results from Town Clerk Gilda Galvis, voter turnout was 61.7%, as 364 of the 590 registered voters in town cast their ballots.
In the two Selectboard races, DiMatteo edged out Eric Johnson for a three-year seat with 189 votes to 172 votes, while Caffery was elected to a two-year term with 190 votes to Gary Russell’s 170 votes. The race for moderator was also contested, with Jack Golden earning a one-year term with 213 votes to Lance Fritz’s 139 votes.
Both DiMatteo and Caffery highlighted the difficulties the town has faced over the past year, but they are optimistic that, despite people’s different opinions, they can help mend the cracks formed.
“I’m feeling more aware of opportunities than challenges,” Caffery said. “Our struggles don’t define us, they’re the starting point. … There’s a lot to do, but that’s why we sign up.”
Rebuilding a cohesive community is a “brick-by-brick process,” DiMatteo said.
“We’ve had a very difficult year, and we have split opinions about what had happened and where things are,” she said. “People did say they want to get back to civility and a sense of community, and that’s our big challenge.”
Caffery, a former resource economics lecturer at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said there is “a lot of common ground” between residents. He wants residents to “stay engaged and hold me accountable to high standards” as he begins his term. He also thanked Jensen for the “high bar” she set as a Selectboard member.
“Serving starts with listening,” he said. “I hope people will continue to be engaged and fight for what they love in Leyden.”
DiMatteo said transparency and communication are two of her priorities, as well as encouraging collaboration between town boards and committees — akin to the Connecting Community Initiative organized in Deerfield.
“We’ve been operating in silos. … The town is a big team, we’re all working for the same thing,” she said. “In these times, there’s so many different ways people hear things, but no one hears it from the same source. You have to make sure you’re touching all those different places and find new ways to get information out.”
DiMatteo added she will be setting up office hours at the Town Offices and she encourages people to come talk to her about things going on in the town.
“I want to hear from people,” she said. “What I want the townspeople to know is I’m going to listen to their opinions and suggestions … to find the best way forward for Leyden.”
For Golden, earning the moderator position is an exciting prospect for him, especially after the town has been served by DiMatteo in the role for 20 years.
“This is venturing into new territory,” Golden said. “I’m most looking forward to seeing if I can help bring the town together as more of a cohesive unit and looking ahead in a positive way.”
The rest of the results are as follows (a write-in candidate for the Board of Health is being contacted to see if they will accept the nomination):
■Planning Board — Elizabeth Turbergen, write-in candidate with 33 votes.
■Tree warden — William Brooks, 306 votes.
■Board of Health — Beth Kuzdeba, 251 votes.
■Constable — Vanessa Russell, 276 votes.
■Library trustee — Carolyn Asbury, 305 votes.
■Board of Assessors — John Rodgers, 279 votes.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.