Smith In Upset Over Incumbent Schell; Dykens Wins Another Term

CHATHAM – Former Harbormaster Stuart F.X. Smith won a seat on the select board in Thursday’s annual town election, beating incumbent Michael Schell by a comfortable margin.

Incumbent Jeffrey Dykens won re-election to a fifth term on the board, and voters approved borrowing of $32 million to finance the next phase of the town’s sewer expansion project.

Smith, who retired last year, received 1,019 votes, the most of any of the four candidates for the two three-year terms on the select board. Dykens had 752 votes, Schell 573 and Brian Phillips 331, according to preliminary results released Thursday evening.

Katherine Nickerson was unopposed for a five-year term on the housing authority. No candidate ran for the seat on the Monomoy Regional school committee, but former school committee member Staphen Davol received 122 write-in votes. 

The sewer borrowing question, which passed Saturday’s town meeting by a two-thirds vote, was approved 1,057-350. 

A second ballot question asking voters to urge officials to prohibit the dumping of radioactive waste into Cape Cod Bay by the owner of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant also passed, 1,278-164.

A total of 1,565 of the town’s 6,136 registered voters cast ballots, a 26 percent turnout, according to the town clerk.