Incumbents Reign in Race for Dedham Selectmen

Three years ago the Board of Selectmen received fresh blood when and swept all seven precincts.

Saturday was more of the same in Dedham.

MacDonald with Reynolds taking 27.9 percent of the vote. 

"I am very excited to have the voting public say that the work Sarah and I both have done, in concert with the other board members, is something that they want to see continue," Reynolds said at his campaign party.

A new 3-year term will give Reynolds an opportunity to work on projects he wants completed, he said. For instance, he will push for the town to build an intergenerational community center and make "physical improvements" to both of the town's libraries. 

The co-owner of said Saturday that chances are high he would not seek re-election in 2014 - especially if the community center and libraries have at least a construction date.

"I have three more years to finish what I've started," Reynolds said. "I'm not going to do things based on lining up votes in 2014, I'm going to do things because I'm tired of things not getting done."

Reynolds hinted at aspirations of an elected state position.

"If there are opportunities to have a different kind of impact, a larger impact, then that would be interesting," Reynolds said.

The election validated a job well-done and the change brought to the Board of Selectmen over the three years, both Reynolds and MacDonald said in separate interviews.

"I would like to think people have realized how hard I've worked the last three years and that we are moving in the right direction," MacDonald said. "I feel proud."

MacDonald, the board's current chairman, received 1,878 votes Saturday. 

During her campaign, MacDonald emphasized a need for new police and fire stations, and added that the town needs to prioritize their major capital projects.

"We have longer term conversations about our capital projects long term - how do we decide what we're going to do and when we're going to do it?" she said.  

George Panagopoulos, 23, finished third in voting with 1,155 votes, or 17.3 percent, in his first try for political office.

"Obviously I would've liked to win, but I'm happy with the numbers that came out against two strong incumbents," Panagopoulos said in a phone interview.

Panagopoulos said he will stay involved in town business and has plans to run in the future.

"This was a great stepping stone," he said. "My next time out is going to be incredible."

While turnout didn't match the 5,100 votes cast in the 2008 race, the results were the same - a sweep of all the precincts.

"It showed that some of the people were happy with the incumbents that were in," Town Clerk Paul Munchbach said.