The Town of Hamilton held its Annual Town Election (ATE) on Thursday, April 10, 2025. A total of 2,058 ballots were cast by residents, representing a 35.64% voter turnout from the Town’s 5,775 registered voters. The results have now been officially certified by Town Clerk Carin A. Kale, CMMC.
Voters were asked to weigh in on a debt exclusion question related to school infrastructure funding. It was the only question on the ballot and a major driver to the record high turnout in recent years:
“Shall the Town of Hamilton be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay the Town’s allocable share of the bond issued by the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District for the purpose of paying costs of a new Cutler Elementary School at 237 Asbury St. Hamilton, MA, including the payment of all costs incidental or related thereto?”
Final Certified Results:
YES – 1,014 votes
NO – 1,000 votes
Blanks – 44
The measure earned approval in Hamilton by a 14-vote margin, satisfying the requirement for a simple majority. The unmarked votes, cast by engaged participants in the election, reflect undecided perspectives could potentially lean in either direction in the future.
In the Select Board race, voters were asked to choose two candidates for a three-year term. Thomas Brian Myers Jr., the incumbent, received the highest number of votes with 1,063, followed by Benjamin Galuza with 850 votes. This will be Galuza’s, an engineer and former Google executive, first term on the board. While local elections draw significant attention due to their direct impact on the community, results show that 29.04% of residents did not vote in the Select Board race.
For the position of Moderator, William Francis Bowler ran unopposed and received 1,385 votes. Outgoing Select Board Chair Caroline Beaulieu received the highest number of write-in votes for the moderator position. Christopher S. Campbell retained his seat on the Board of Assessors with 1,459 votes and in the race for Hamilton-Wenham Library Trustee, Jane S. Kusel secured 1,476 votes for the one-year term.
In the Planning Board election, all three incumbents were re-elected and ran unopposed. The vote totals for each candidate were as follows:
• Emil Tuff Dahlquist (1,219 votes)
• Elizabeth L. Herr (1,263 votes)
• William Cody Wheaton (1,251 votes)
In the School Committee race, voters were asked to select up to three candidates for a 3-year term. Although the school consolidation project was a major driver of voter turnout, 47.3% of voters did not select candidates in this race. While the ballot question drew significant attention, the School Committee contest saw lower levels of participation. The current School Committee supported the consolidation proposal, and newly elected members will be involved in any future decisions related to the project.
The three highest vote-getters for School Committee were:
• David I. Frenkel (1,163)
• David Joseph Polito (1,109)
• Amy Leone Kunberger (1,090)
All three elected candidates were incumbents.
The ballot question followed the Annual Town Meeting (ATM) on Saturday, April 5, 2025, which drew over 950 residents. A central article at ATM proposed support of funding the proposed elementary school consolidation project. Under the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District Agreement, the project required a two-part approval:
1. A two-thirds majority vote at Annual Town Meeting
2. A simple majority at the Annual Town Election
Though the ATM article received a plurality of support with 515 in favor and 377 opposed, it did not meet the two-thirds threshold and thus failed to pass at that venue. While it did not pass at the meeting, the question did meet the simple majority threshold at the election. Both the Finance Committee and School Committee provided a comprehensive analysis comparing consolidation and renovation options. However, the number of blank ballots may suggest that some voters may still have unanswered questions if the proposal returns for further consideration.
Now that the ballot question has been certified as having passed, the next step may involve bringing the matter to a Special Town Meeting, where the two-thirds majority requirement would again apply under the terms of the district agreement.
View the certified election results for Hamilton >>
The first Select Board meeting following the election takes place on Tuesday, April 22. The meeting will discuss and decide it’s annual reorganization for the year ahead. The complete agenda is posted online.
