All incumbent town officials in Essex were reelected to their current positions on town boards and offices on Nov. 7. A total of 9,989 votes were cast in this municipal election.

Incumbent Democratic First Selectman Norm Needleman was reelected for his seventh term as the first selectman, with a total of 1,327 votes. His colleagues on the Board of Selectmen, Democrat Stacia Libby and Republican Bruce Glowac, were also reelected for additional terms on the board. Libby received a total of 1,043 votes, while Glowac received a total of 540 votes.

Ethan Goller and Terry Stewart were both reelected to their currently held positions on the Board of Finance, receiving 1,116 votes and 1,549 votes, respectively.

Both of Essex’s incumbent members on the town’s Board of Education, Marjorie Russell and Nancy Johnston, were reelected to their positions. Russell received a total of 1,065 votes, while Johnston received 508 votes.

Kathryn Sandmann, the incumbent chair of the Region 4 Board of Education, was reelected to the district’s board with a total of 1,531 votes.

Mark Bombaci was reelected to his position on the Board of Assessment Appeals with a total of 1,260 votes.

Voters overwhelmingly supported a referendum to appropriate $622,947 “for the cost of the John Winthrop Middle School Security Project,” going towards the construction of a secure vestibule at the school. The project is meant to keep up with new building codes and will see the installation of an elevator leading to the vestibule. Nine hundred eighty-three votes were cast in favor of the referendum. Superintendent Brian White said the project is expected by the district to begin its construction phase in the summer of 2024.