Bristol returns same council slate — with a 'moderate' message?

In the end, nothing changed. The five current members of the Bristol Town Council retain their seats, and the three challengers remain on the outside looking in. Nathan Calouro, Antonio “Tony” Teixeira, Mary Parella, Timothy Sweeney and Aaron Ley were the favored candidates when more than 11,300 votes were counted in Bristol.

Despite the makeup of the council staying exactly the same, however, some of the candidates see meaning in the order of votes. All candidates received more votes than in past elections, based on a huge surge in participation. But the three candidates at the top saw much bigger support this time than they did two years ago.

Mr. Calouro, a Democrat who seemed to be not favored by the progressives advocating for the four other Democratic candidates in the race, was a huge winner. His 6,104 votes (not counting ballots left in secure boxes at polling places on Election Day) is nearly 1,100 votes more than he received when he was also the highest vote-getter in the 2018 race.

Next was Mr. Teixeira, an Independent who was third in the race two years ago, but this time surged to second on the strength of 1,150 more votes than in 2018.

Third was the lone Republican, Ms. Parella, who was fourth in 2018, but captured nearly 1,400 more votes this time around.

Next was Mr. Sweeney, a Democrat. He was second in 2018 but fell to fourth, despite getting 532 more votes this time around.

Mr. Ley claimed the last spot on the council in both 2018 and 2020, this year receiving more than 600 additional votes.

The last three finishers were Independent Mike Byrnes and Democrats Bethany Sousa Foster and Adam Ramos, in that order.

Bristol is a ‘moderate’ town

Ms. Parella, a veteran of many elections, believes there is a reason this group of candidates finished the way they did.

“I believe Bristol is a moderate town, and I don’t think that all of the things that were in the paper, and the name-calling, really did any good for anybody, and I think the results show that. The most moderate names came in at the top of the list,” she said.

Ms. Parella has been a consistent critic of the culture of public discourse in the community, which appears to have gotten worse in recent months. She has been the subject of numerous public and private accusations, including being labeled various things because of her opinions on recent issues. “That’s not what people want in this town,” she said. “They decided enough is enough.”

Looking forward, she said, “I think people need to come together, dial it down a little bit, and realize that most people in this town are moderate. In the end, people just want councilors who are going to represent them and make good decisions.”

To that end, Ms. Parella believes voters showed a lot of confidence in the current leadership of the town — for good reason.

“The fact of that matter is, we have a well-run community … We see projects getting done, we’ve seen a quick response to Covid, we have a great bond rating, we get accolades in our financial reports for being well run … We’re one of the best-run towns in Rhode Island, and that’s what counts.”

A vote of confidence

Mr. Calouro saw Tuesday’s vote as a vote of confidence in current town leadership. “I am truly thankful to the residents of Bristol for their trust and their faith,” Mr. Calouro said. “I think it’s an affirmation of how I conduct myself, and how my colleagues conduct themselves.”

As for the order of the candidates, from top to bottom, he said, “I think it speaks to a majority Bristol voters being pragmatists … I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. I don’t think there’s a place in Bristol to be too liberal, or too conservative. We need to do more of the work to find agreement, because that’s how you actually get things done.”

Expanding on the theme, he said, “There’s nothing magic about getting things done … No one gets everything they want. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t, but there is no one side to an issue … I really do value the moderate approach, and moderate does not mean you have no position. It means you’re committed to having open ears and listening to everyone. You’re not going to make decisions that make everyone happy all the time … but I know that people value that approach, and I know they value respectful debate. That is something that shows in yesterday’s numbers.”

Voters sent a ‘mandate’

Mr. Teixeira strongly agrees with his colleagues on the council that voters sent a message. “It’s amazing how people really sent a mandate to the candidates, and to the community — the group that we have in office has done a great job, and we’re looking for them to continue,” he said.

Of the five members on the council, he said, “We’ve been very welcoming to people, we listen to people, we’ve been attentive to people, and we make decisions. That’s what the voters want.”

Mr. Teixeira said he wishes Mike Byrnes had found a seat on the council. “We would have enjoyed having him as a teammate,” he said. But he nonetheless feels confident in the group Bristol elected.

Mr. Byrnes said Wednesday morning that he’s disappointed to not win, but he’s not disappointed in the outcome. “I’m very happy with this council,” he said. “It would have been nice to have a chance to serve, but I’m fine with the outcome.”