WILBRAHAM — Tracey Plantier won another three-year term on the Planning Board in a tight three-way race in the May 17 town election.
The race came down to a handful of votes. With 264 ballots cast for her, Plantier eeked out a victory against the next closest candidate, Joseph Cantalini, who received 258 votes. John “JP” McGrath came in third with 155 votes.
The Planning Board was the only elected body with a contested seat on the ballot. Five officials won reelection — Select Board Chair Susan Bunnell, Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee member Sean Kennedy, Assessor Roger Roberge II, Water Commissioner Rik Alvarez and Peter Manolakis on the Housing Authority.
John Caltabano was elected to the Water Commission and Natasha Ayres won a seat on the Cemetery Commission. Margaret Bagge, Amelia Holstrom and Ronnie Haislip-Hansberry became library trustees. Patrick Roach won a write-in campaign with six votes, against Mandell Greene’s five write-in votes.
Just 730 of the town’s 11,773 registered voters, or 6.2%, turned out for the election. Generally, fewer people vote in elections without many contested seats. In 2024, with multiple candidates running for the School Committee and Planning Board, 14.6% of voters went to the polls. Similarly, there were five contested seats in the 2023 town election, and 15.43% of the electorate voted.
