Upset In Commissioners’ Primary Race

UPPER CAPE- All four Upper Cape towns saw very light voter turnout at Tuesday’s primaries, despite having four contested races to decide.
The average voter turnout among the four towns was 14.25 percent, with Falmouth showing a slightly higher turnout thanks to a contested state representative primary race. Statewide, voter turnout was a dismally low 10 percent.
County Commissioner
The biggest race on the Cape resulted in an upset victory as Lance W. Lambros of Sandwich, incumbent Democratic candidate for the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners, went down to defeat in a tight contest. Mr. Lambros collected 19 percent of the Capewide vote, but was edged out by Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet and Mary L. (Pat) Flynn of Falmouth, who received 21 and 19 percent, respectively.
Ms. Flynn received 7,978 votes Cape-wide, Mr. Lambros 7,845.
Mr. Lambros took Bourne and Mashpee by narrow margins and made a strong showing in his hometown, but Ms. Lyons ruled the Lower Cape and much of the Mid-Cape, and Ms. Flynn dominated in her hometown to squeak out their primary victories.
Ms. Lyons and Mr. Lambros exchanged praise at this week’s meeting of the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates. “I thought you worked a great campaign,” Ms. Lyons said to Mr. Lambros. “I know somebody had to lose, and I’m sorry it was you.”
Mr. Lambros congratulated Ms. Lyons, and said that both he and County Commissioner Mary J. LeClair, who is leaving the board at the end of her current term, were planning to work with the two new commissioners to get them up to speed on their duties to ensure a seamless transition.
“You’re stuck with me for another three months,” Mr. Lambros joked with the Assembly, adding that he was proud of what he’d achieved on the board in his two terms.
J. Gregory Milne of Barnstable, who took 10 percent of the total vote, won in his hometown, while Thomas P. Bernardo of Centerville, who took 10 percent of the vote, made decent gains in the Mid-Cape but brought up the rear in the Upper Cape.
Ms. Flynn and Ms. Lyons now move on to face Republican challengers Ricardo M. Barros of Centerville and William B. (Brad) Crowell of Dennis in the general election. The two top candidates in that race will be named to the board of county commissioners to replace Mr. Lambros and Ms. LeClair.
State representative - Barnstable District
Daniel J. Larkosh of West Tisbury earned 25 percent of the total vote and secured the Democratic nomination for the state rep seat, which is being vacated by Eric T. Turkington (D - Falmouth).
“We’re all really happy here, but we’re not patting each other on the back yet,” Mr. Larkosh said, referring to the upcoming four-way general election race. He is set to face three unenrolled candidates in Jacob Ferreira of Vineyard Haven, Melissa B. Freitag of Falmouth, and Timothy R. Madden of Nantucket.
Divided loyalties on the Vineyard ultimately worked in Mr. Larkosh’s favor, and he credited his primary win to successful voter outreach efforts beyond his home turf. “I was the only candidate who reached out to voters outside his area,” he said.
Register of Probate
Anastasia Welsh Perrino of Dennis won the Republican Primary race for Barnstable County Register of Probate against Priscilla J. Young of Pocasset. Ms. Young won all four Upper Cape towns but failed to expand her base to the Mid- and Lower Cape, where Ms. Perrino dominated. Ms. Perrino took 58 percent of the total vote, Ms. Young 40 percent.
“Ms. Young ran a great campaign,” Ms. Perrino said.
The former assistant judicial case manager will now compete for the post against Mr. Turkington and James A. Feeney of Harwich, an unenrolled candidate. The winner will replace longtime register Frederic B. Claussen, who is retiring at the end of his term.
Ms. Perrino said she plans to focus a little more on getting her name out to voters on the Upper Cape, and would “continue to emphasize my positive message” of improving court performance and services without increasing the cost to taxpayers.
“I would certainly like to reach out to Ms. Young’s supporters” as she enters the next phase of her campaign, “and I want to continue to reach out to citizens of Barnstable County all over the Cape…it doesn’t matter to me how they’re registered, because this is a non-partisan job.”
US Senate
At the federal level, US Senator John F. Kerry made a clean sweep of the Cape and Islands, securing 69 percent of the total vote over his Democratic rival, Edward J. O’Reilly of Gloucester, who earned 30 percent of the vote. Those numbers reflected the split statewide as Senator Kerry handily fended off his first primary challenge since taking office.
“Although we came up short on the final numbers, we stuck to our principles and, above all else, we always kept it real,” Mr. O’Reilly said to supporters via an e-mailed statement. “I want to thank you for working with me on this campaign for meaningful change.  What a journey it has been!”
Mr. Kerry will now face Republican Jeffrey K. Beatty of Harwich.
Governor’s Council
The final contested race in the primary, for governor’s councillor of the First District, went to incumbent Carole A. Fiola of Fall River, who bested challenger Oliver P. Cipollini Jr. of Marstons Mills.
State Representatives Matthew C. Patrick (D - Falmouth) and Jeffrey D. Perry (R - Sandwich) did not have primary challengers. They will face, respectively, unenrolled candidate Carey M. Murphy of Waquoit and Democrat Glenn S. Paré of Sandwich.
Congressman William D. Delahunt, Senate President Therese Murray, State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D - Barnstable), and State Representative Susan D. Williams Gifford (D - Wareham) are all running unopposed this year.
The four Upper Cape candidates for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates—Richard J. Anderson of Bourne, Julia K. Taylor of Falmouth, Marcia R. King of Mashpee, and Thomas F. Keyes of Sandwich—are also running unopposed in the general election.