By Joseph Domelowicz Jr.
Some 14,189 voters turned out in Everett last week and in early voting to have their voices heard in the Presidential Election and to determine the outcome of four state ballot questions.
In the end, everyone knows that Everett and Massachusetts bucked the national trend in electing Donald Trump as the next President of the United States.
9,439 Everett voters chose Hillary Clinton in her losing effort, while just 3,932 Everett residents voted for Trump. Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson got another 307 votes and Green candidate Jill Stein got 164 votes. There were also 185 write-in votes for other candidates and 153 blanks.
The top vote getter from Everett in all races was incumbent Democratic US Congressman Michael Capuano, who got 11,077 votes in his successful re-election bid. He was unopposed.
Other down ballot candidates running unopposed included Governors Councilor Terrence Kennedy who got 10,808, State Senator Salvatore DiDomenico who had 11,065 votes, State Representative Joseph McGonagle who got 10,795 votes and Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian who got 10,145 votes.
Everett voters went along with their counterparts statewide in voting down Questions 1, which would have authorized another slots casino in the state and Question 2, which would have eliminated the cap on Charter Schools in Massachusetts. Question 2 had been hotly opposed by local school administrators and teachers in Everett.
Question 3, which called for the humane treatment of certain farm animals being raised as a food source including chickens, pigs and goats was roundly approved by voters both here and across the state.
However, Everett voters parted ways with their fellow Massachusetts citizens when it came to Question 4, which successfully legalized the use of marijuana as a recreational drug. Though the ballot questions succeeded statewide, it failed in Everett by a narrow margin, after Police Chief Steven Mazzie urged residents to vote down the initiative. Question 4 failed in Everett by a count of 6,853 against and 6539 for.