Thursday, March 30, 2000 Older Editions

Major, Teichert for selectmen; O'Connor for housing authority

By Neil Fater

Andover's two major contested races in the annual town election Tuesday were the electoral equivalent of photo finishes, with each decided by no more than 20 votes.

In the selectmen's race, incumbent Brian Major and newcomer Ted Teichert outdrew challenger Don Robb for the two available seats, with Teichert beating Robb by just 20 votes.

In the Andover Housing Authority race, former public housing official Francis O'Connor squeaked by former School Committee member Michael Frishman, by just 15 votes.

New Selectman Teichert learned of his close call with a phone call. He says he wasn't immediately sure if he had won after hearing the numbers.

"It took me a minute. I had to think about it, and I was still nervous. I wasn't quite comfortable. (I thought) 20 votes, is this for sure?" says Teichert.

Meanwhile, the housing authority race was so close, that both O'Connor and Frishman left the polls thinking Frishman had won.

After doing a quick calculation as poll workers posted unofficial numbers, O'Connor incorrectly stated that Frishman had beat him by 20 votes. With attention focused on tabulating the tight selectmen's rate, most residents at the polls assumed O'Connor was correct.

Frishman celebrated his assumed victory at Teichert's victory party, and didn't learn the actual total until more than two hours after the polls had closed (see related story).

In the only other contested race, there was no such question. Long-time moderator Jim Doherty was elected to preside again over the Town Meeting. Challenger John Doyle collected about 21 percent of the vote.

Incumbent School Committee member Frank "Skip" Eccles and newcomer Gerald Gustus ran unopposed and were named to the School Committee.

Though he did not have to campaign, Gustus was at the polls holding a sign, and says he is happy to begin his School Committee tenure.

"I felt good two months ago. I felt good on Feb. 8 when no one returned papers," says Gustus.

About 2,900 residents voted in the town election, with just a trickle making their way to the polls through a morning rain.

"With the weather, we didn't see anyone until 10 a.m. Then it picked up a bit after the rain stopped," says Leo Bernard, of Cottage Road, a poll worker. "We really didn't have a busy time at all. It was quite calm all day. The toughest part was staying awake."

Town Clerk Randy Hanson says the town will not need a recount, because of the accuracy of the machines used.

Teichert celebrated his victory with family and friends Tuesday night.

"It's great when you grew up here, and you look at people who were selectmen, and you say I want to do that," says Teichert. "It's a great feeling."

He could point to no one reason for his victory over Robb.

"You know what, 20 votes (is not a lot). Was it being at the train station talking to people? Was it the extra phone call? Maybe," says Teichert. "A woman drove by me (at the polls) and said, 'Ted, your sister called me. I forgot all about the election.' Without that, it's 19 votes."

One factor may have been the large number of signs supporting Teichert that were displayed on Andover lawns. Teichert had more signs than most long-time watchers could remember seeing in any recent town election.

Money may have been a factor as well. Between Jan. 1 and March 10, the reporting date for campaign finance forms, Teichert had outspent Robb $3,541.20 to $1,293.92.

Teichert's war chest was strengthened by a $1,000 contribution from the Andover Firefighters Union.

Major spent $2,506.50 and received a $100 contribution from the firefighters union. His largest contributions were a pair of $500 donations from residents David Vining, and Bert Vining, a student.

Robb's largest contribution was a $500 loan from himself.

Both Teichert and Major say their top two goals for the coming year are to gain support for the two new schools, and for a Proposition 21/2 debt exclusion to pay for the safety center.

Major says another main goal for the next year is "making sure that we have solid plans in place and we, as a Board of Selectmen, are tracking each of the major projects. We need to know what's going to happen when, so we can communicate back to the citizens in those areas."

For Major, the election capped the end of a week that also saw his second daughter brought home from the hospital for the first time.

"It was a killer not to see these guys today," says Major, picking up his 28-month-old daughter, and referring to her new sister. "How can you beat this week? It's absolutely phenomenal. I'm still riding high. Last week, it was very difficult to think about campaign stuff."

He says the age of the board -- which has no selectmen with more than three years experience -- should not be a problem

"I think you have a board that likes to dive into the issues. There are previous board members that might put some thoughts into your mind about what's happened," says Major. "Sometimes, for issues like Ballardvale (traffic), where it's gone around and around and around for so long, we need to get away from the history and go in a different direction."

Major found out about his victory from Don Robb, who had called to congratulate him.

Robb says he will stay involved with town activities, including the push for two new schools.

"I've got a lot of calls from people saying, 'There are a lot of things to do in this town.' I'm planning to do that," says Robb, who spent the past 20 years on the finance and school committees.