Almeida Defeats Buckley, Joins Board of Selectmen

A total of 1,260 Seekonk residents turned out to vote in a special election to fill the seat left open by Bill Rice on the town's Board of Selectmen. By the slimmest of margins, a majority of the voters chose Nelson Almeida over Paul Buckley in the contest.

Almeida won with 639 votes to 607 for Buckley. "Words can't say. I worked very, very hard," said an emotional Almeida at a gathering he held for supporters Monday evening. "I've got many more supporters who couldn't make it out here tonight," the Selectman-elect continued as he juggled phone calls from excited backers.

Buckley, who awaited the returns at Seekonk High School, was the first to congratulate his opponent. "The voters spoke and I'm fine with that. I look forward to seeing him work on the board," said Buckley.

The turnout was exceptional for a special election, which was held only for this race. The 1,260 votes cast equaled about 150% of the votes cast in the Commonwealth's Presidential Preference Primary, held in March. In April's town elections, only about 1,600 votes were cast. "Obviously both candidates worked hard and got the vote out," said Buckley.

Almeida will now take his seat on a board with three men who campaigned for his opponent. He indicated a desire to move past the campaign and work with his fellow board members.

"I really hope they can see past this and see that, you know, 'this guy campaigned, he worked hard. He's going to sit on the board, we're going to work as a team,' and work on behalf of our residents," said Almeida.