Special Election Results – Bonnie Van Slyke Wins
Thank you to each of the 1,465 voters who took the time to vote in this special election, congratulations to Bonnie Van Slyke for winning the election, and congratulations to all three candidates for putting their names forward as candidates!
Protecting our environment, economy, and future depends on each of us, the citizens of Charlestown, working together. The election may be over, but Charlestown Citizens Alliance will continue to engage the public to encourage Charlestown’s government to protect our environment, economy, and future.
Special Election Vote Totals
| Town Council Candidate | Total Votes |
|---|---|
| Bonnie Van Slyke | 575 |
| Jill Fonnemann | 531 |
| Laura Rom | 359 |
You can get the full breakdown of voting results, including mail ballots and early voting at the Board of Elections (BOE) website. The 11% turnout reported on the BOE webpage is for all three towns that had elections on December 2. Charlestown had much higher turnouts than the other towns. In the 2024 general election, which included voting for president, 5,371 people voted in Charlestown. The December 2 vote was 27% of that number. In the 2022 general election, which included voting for governor, 4,117 people voted in Charlestown. The December 2 vote was 35% of that number.
December 12, 2025 @ 10:31 am
Congratulations and Thanks to Charlestown voters for electing Bonnie. The results show that the current council’s tone and actions has the support of fewer than 25% of the voters/citizens that care. If the balance of the council are actually conservative, and believe in Democracy, perhaps they will start to try to faithfully represent the citizens of the town.
December 6, 2025 @ 3:32 pm
Bonnie,
Glad you’ll be helping Charlestown protect our most precious natural resources within the spirit of an inclusive community for all
December 4, 2025 @ 11:40 am
congratulations Bonnie !
December 4, 2025 @ 10:00 am
Well this is a small step, however a significant one for the town and the mission to stop commercializing our town. Bonnie has an uphill battle until the next election. In my opinion this current council has shown no interest in the citizens of this town, only their personal agendas for “building” up the town. What have they done to slow down new construction in town, to support zoning laws that protect the value of already existing homes and home ownership? How about locking in the house taxes for the elderly? Many towns have done this to protect the elderly home owners. How about setting limits on the solar panel farms? Previous councils have stopped a Federally charged proposal to put train rails through our historical section of the town. What has this council done to prevent the State and the Federal governments from taking over pristine land of the town? Protecting our environment ought to be a priority, a true concern for the citizens of the town and a true concern of the people who run the town. I used to be a critic of the environmentalists, “the tree huggers”, until I learned the importance of our resources. Life experiences can sometimes change a person’s perspective. Our ground water is the most important resource this town possesses. If anyone reading this reply has any doubts on what I’ve written here relating to our water supply, try letting your well pump break down, or…let a multi day power outage hit!!! Try living with this condition 24/7. We have a neighbor who lives only a few houses away whose well was contaminated with E.coli bacteria from a plat above his home. Open lands and green properties help to prevent this condition. I am a taxpayer, I vote and I will do whatever I can to protect our environment.
December 5, 2025 @ 10:07 pm
carney and other members of our! Town council disregard/ignore the results of the 2021 Polco community survey; disregard/ ignore the wishes of 80/90% of residents of this town. Do not! Let them commercialize, exploit, destroy! Ninigret Park. Vote them out!!!
December 4, 2025 @ 8:10 am
So glad to hear this, this is important news.Maybe we can turn the tide on Carney’s. Team
December 3, 2025 @ 7:48 pm
Absolutley! Save Ninigret Park from carney and this present council’s plan to commercialize, develop, exploit… destroy the natural, peaceful environment that is Ninigret Park.
How can the Charlestown town council disregard The Polco 2021 community ssurvey?
December 3, 2025 @ 7:34 pm
Congratulations, Bonnie.
As the only candidate with an education plank in her platform, Bonnie stresses the need for preparing our children for the future. In the last two town-wide elections only CCA candidates made mention of the importance of education.
December 3, 2025 @ 6:50 pm
Very pleased to hear that Bonnie won! Her platform is important to maintain the beauty and character of our town. Appreciate your service!!
December 3, 2025 @ 9:59 am
Congratulations to Bonnie and thanks to all the voters. Each vote counts, as does support in other ways. It was close so we need to find others who value Charlestown’s special assets especially its natural resources. Once gone they are irreplaceable. Thinking forward to 2026 think about running for Town Council, Planning Commission and volunteering for other commissions. It takes everyone to do a part. Contact Bonnie or Ruth to chat about what it takes. The most important is a commitment to keeping what we cherish about Charlestown.