Sandra Ann Peret wins heated city collector race in Chicopee
CHICOPEE — Sandra Ann Peret has won the highly contentious city collector race.
According to the City Clerk's Office, Peret received 3,234 votes, or 52% of the votes. Her opponent, Rajesh "Raj" Sanghvi, received 2,965 votes, or about 45%.
"This is a vote from the people of Chicopee," said Peret when a reporter called her Tuesday evening, shortly after the official results were announced. "I'd like to thank my family, friends and really everyone on this grassroots campaign."
After the primary in September, Sanghvi, a local businessman, and Peret, a nurse and longtime School Committee member, received the most number of votes to move forward. Sanghvi held the lead at the time, though the numbers were close.
Sanghvi received 795 votes, or about 38%, and Peret received 771 votes, or 36%, according to official results from the City Clerk's Office.
In Chicopee, the city collector is responsible for collecting taxes, excise bills, utility bills, parking tickets and sewer fees. It is a full-time position and a four-year term.
The candidates dueling for the position said they had heard from residents about implementing a quarterly tax payment system, which was added as a non-binding ballot question after the City Council took a vote on it two weeks ago.
The question received a "yes" majority by 561 votes, according to the results on Tuesday.
"I'll discuss this with my fellow department heads when I'm in office," said Peret.
Peret said Sanghvi called to congratulate her on the win Tuesday evening.
"I'd like to thank Mr. Sanghvi. I think we both ran a good campaign and this is really humbling," she said. "The people of Chicopee got us over the finish line."
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