Preliminary Election Results Could Be Trouble For Salem Incumbent

SALEM, MA — At-Large Salem City Councilor Elaine Milo received 1,401 votes in Tuesday's preliminary election, just 60 fewer the number of votes she received in the 2017 preliminary election. The difference between now and two years ago is that the 1,461 votes she received in 2017 was good enough for a third-place finish. On Tuesday, she finished seventh.

That was good enough to get Milo on the ballot for the Nov. 5 election, when she and seven other candidates will vie for four seats that are up for reelection. The other two incumbents in the race, Domingo J. Dominguez and Arthur Sargent, placed second and fifth respectively.

Tuesday's results weren't lost on Milo.

"While you always want to finish in the top four, plenty of wildcard teams have gone on to win the championship," Milo said. "I'm confident that with lots hard work - walking and knocking - we'll be able to get our message out to the voters. The preliminary elections are over. We're focusing on the final."

In 2017, Milo ended up finishing second in the general election. Tom Furey, who is not seeking reelection this year, finished fifth in the preliminary. But after being edged by seven votes in the preliminary by Jerry Ryan, he ended up finishing fourth in the general election race for seven seats. Domingues placed first in both the preliminary and general elections in 2017, while Sargent fell to third in the general election after placing second in the preliminary election.

Put another way, there is often little movement between the preliminary and general election votes. If Tuesday night's results repeat on Nov. 5, Dominguez would be reelected, while retired Salem Police Capt. Conrad J. Prosniewski — the biggest vote getter on Tuesday — Ty Hapworth and Alice Merkl would join Salem City Council. Meanwhile, Milo and Sargent would fail to get reelected.

Correction: An earlier version of this story had the top five finishers listed in the wrong order.

2019 Salem Preliminary Election Results (Unofficial)

City Council, At Large

Four seats up for reelection; top eight vote recipients in preliminary election will appear on the ballot in the Nov. 5 general election. Candidates for reelection are marked with an asterisk (*). Winners are listed in bold type.

Note: Incumbent Thomas H. Furey is not running for reelection.