Rafal defeats Norton for School Committee seat

Christine Rafal speaks at an electoral forum held by Centro Presente. ~Photo by Tom Nash By Tom Nash Christine Rafal defeated incumbent Jamie Norton for the Ward 4 School Committee seat on Tuesday, while Ward 5 challenger Anna Lavanga lost to incumbent Mark Niedergang. Norton, editor of The Somerville News and co-owner of real estate company ERA The Norton Group, had served in the position since 2007 after winning a sticker race against incumbent Charlene Harris. Harris was also forced to run a write-in campaign after failing to turn in election paperwork. He previously served in the position from 1994-95 after an unsuccessful run in 1989. Rafal, a curriculum writer active in the Somerville Public Schools community, defeated Norton by 135 votes out of the 1,115 votes cast for the position. Lavanga, former vice president of the John F. Kennedy School Parent-Teacher Association, garnered 383 votes against Niedergang's 1,029.