Recount Confirms Republican Amy Winchell as Winner for Deep River Town Clerk
By Charles Stannard
DEEP RIVER— A recount conducted Monday confirmed Republican Amy Winchell as the winner for town clerk on a 703-701 vote over Democrat Nancy Talbot.
The recount conducted at the Deep River Puiblic Library polling place showed a one-vote gain for each candidate, but did not change the result recorded on election night, when Winchell led Talbot on a vote of 702-700. The recount process took nearly four hours, as poll workers checked each ballot by hand for anomalies or errors, and then ran each ballot through the optical scan voting machine.
Winchell, 48, will become the first Republican to hold the position in more than 30 years when she takes office for a two-year term on January 4. She replaces Democrat Jeanne Nickse, who has held the job since 1993. The position has a salary of about $42,000 per year.
Winchell, who currenly works as a pre-school program para-educator at Essex Elementary School, said she is “very excited” by the election win. “I am ready to start this new chapter in my life and I’m confident I can do a good job,” she said. A 40-year resident, Winchell is the mother of three children ages 12, 15, and 17.
Talbot, who works as the town’s park and recreation director/building department clerk, said Monday she is “definitely very disappointed,” by the result. “I hope people realize that every vote does count,” she said.
Talbot was the unanimous pick of the Deep River Democratic Town Committee for the open town clerk nomination, but faced a challenge within the Democratic Party from Stella Beaudoin, a clerk for the Essex judge of probate. Talbot was also endorsed by the July 26 nominating caucus and defeated Beaudoin on a 194-125 vote in a Sept. 15 primary.
Talbot said she believes the primary was a factor in the election result, while adding that “pointing fingers now is useless.” Democrats prevailed in most other contests on the ballot in an election where Democratic First Selectman Richard Smith was uncontested by town Republicans for an 11th term.
Arthur Thompson, the Democratic town chairman who was elected to the board of selectmen last week, said he is not certain whether the primary contest was a major factor in the town clerk result. “Both candidates worked very hard and one candidate got more votes than the other,” Thompson said, adding that he accepts the decision of the voters.
