Dickerson prevails in Rockland race Challenger emphasizes ‘cohesive vision’

ROCKLAND – Voters on Tuesday elected City Council incumbent Eric Hebert and challenger Elizabeth Dickerson to fill two positions.

Dickerson will succeed Mayor Harold Perry, who stepped down from the council until a few days before the election, when he waged a write-in campaign.

Dickerson, 43, ran a personal campaign of knocking on doors and talking with individual voters about their concerns.

“It takes a lot of determination and interest and time, but you really get to know the people you are representing,” she said of her campaign.

She said her “big push” was to work toward a cohesive vision for the city.

“As part of that vision, I want to see us diversify as much as possible, in terms of employment and activities for people,” she added.

Employed as an educational technician at Medomak Valley High School, and self-employed as a professional gardener and guitar teacher, Dickerson put in a plug for helping with activities for teenagers.

She said the current division in the city over a zoning change to allow a Walgreens pharmacy to build on the edge of a residential neighborhood is an issue that goes deeper than the zone change.

“If we had a cohesive, solid vision of a direction we want to move in, and we had policies in place, I think that we wouldn’t get into these kinds of gridlocks,” she said.

Hebert and Dickerson emerged as the top vote-getters among six candidates for the two council seats.

Hebert had the most votes, with 1,892, followed by Dickerson with 1,425 tallies. Peter W. Mulhearn finished third with 951 votes, Linda H. Webbenhurst was fourth with 656 votes, and Ramona H. Clark followed her with 590 votes.

Perry, who was not on the ballot, received 77 write-in votes.

City Clerk Stuart Sylvester said Hebert and Dickerson would be sworn in at the Nov. 17 council meeting.

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