At Westwood's Annual Town Meeting on Monday, May 4, Town Clerk Dottie Powers swore in newly elected town officials, including write-in candidate Eric Alden, while longtime resident Josepha Jowdy received the town's highest honor.
When the winners for all of Westwood's other open seats for elected office were announced within an hour of the close of polls on Election Night, April 28, the winner of the five-year Housing Authority seat was still being determined. No name had appeared on the printed ballot for that position, and the Town Clerk's Office needed additional time to review and tabulate write-in names to determine the winner.
According to Annual Town Election Results posted by the town clerk's office, Mr. Alden received 42 of the 139 total write-in votes that were cast for Housing Authority. As the person receiving the most votes, he has won election.
The 2026 John J. Cronin Public Service Award was presented to Ms. Jowdy, a real estate broker whose service to the town has included nine terms on Westwood's School Committee over a period of 27 years, during which she worked with six different superintendents.
In presenting the award to Ms. Jowdy, Select Board Chair Marianne LeBlanc Cummings listed Ms. Jowdy's contributions to Westwood as including work with Aid to the Elderly and Infirm, the Long-Range Planning Committee, the Obed Baker House Reuse Task Force, and service on the boards of the Westwood Council on Aging and Westwood Food Pantry.
In accepting the award as its 24th recipient, Ms. Jowdy said, “It’s been my great honor to have been of service to Westwood," she said. "When I think about what service means in this town, it's not just the public things that we get recognition for. It’s the people in this town who help each other out in ways that you don’t see in a lot of towns and cities. . . .[W]henever someone from our community is in need, people pitch in. . . . It’s our sense of community and service to each other that make Westwood so special."
Sunny, with a high of 62 and low of 41 degrees. Sunny during the morning, partly cloudy during the afternoon, clear during the evening,
Great news to wake up to
Congratulations, Erin, a well-deserved victory and a voice we sorely need in our town government.
Congratulation to all👏. It is a welcome out come to see some new faces and voice add to the town government.
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