Mandel, Walmart Impacted the Watertown Elections

What was supposed to be an unchallenged race for Watertown's four at-large Town Councilors became a nail-biting wait on Tuesday's election night — and all because Walmart may be coming to town.

Write-in candidate Mike Mandel jumped in the race about two weeks before the election, and his effort fell 91 votes short of gaining a seat on the Town Council.

Mandel, who strongly opposes a Walmart opening in town, decided to run when he learned that not all the Town Councilors opposed the big box store. Specifically he targeted Steve Corbett and John Donohue, who both said they wanted to see a what Walmart proposes before they decide whether or not to support the project.

Lawn signs for Mandel were joined by ones that read "No Walmart: No More Big Boxes."

Election night, the write-in tallies were the talk of Town Hall, as Town Councilors, School Committee candidates and others waited to find out the results of the election. Councilors had people at polling station waiting to read the print outs from the voting machines once they were done tallying at the polling stations.

The total number of write ins were 1,400, but not all would be for Mandel, people said. Corbett said he would not relax until it was official.

"I'm going to wait for the official results, but it is pretty close," Corbett said election night.

The official number of votes for Mandle, released by the Town Clerk's office Wednesday morning, showed Mandel had 1,354, or 91 votes behind Corbett and 104 behind Donohue.

The vote may have been even closer, as Mandel received some votes for Town Council president (there were 75 write-in votes cast for the position), poll workers told Mandel's supporters Tuesday night.

After the election, Mandel said he still has the same focus.

"I'll certainly [will] stay very involved in working to oppose Walmart, as things move forward," Mandel wrote in an email. "You can be assured of that."

While their man did not win, supporters of Mandel said that the election sent a message.

"The message is clear, Watertown residents do not want a Walmart," said Joe Previtera, a member of Sustainable Watertown, which supported Mandel's run.

After it became clear he would retain his seat for a third term, Donohue thanked those who stood behind him.

"I felt people wanted equitable and fair representation," Donohue said. "It is clear from the results that residents want to be heard, every resident. This is not a one-issue town.

Councilor Susan Falkoff received the most votes, with 2,177. She noted she fielded many calls and emails from people wanting to know her stance on Walmart. She opposes the store coming, and said that may have contributed to her vote tally.

"I got calls from people I don't know," Falkoff said. "Walmart has struck people deeply, it has made them think about what kind of community they want (Watertown) to be."