This Day In Norwood History-April 5, 1983-Teenager wins school seat in Norwood

When 18-year-old Timothy McDonough decided to run for a School Committee seat in Norwood, he was a little doubtful about his chances. But he made up his mind that with a lot of hard work and some help from his family and friends, he could win.

The hard work paid off.

When the vote was counted last night, McDonough, a Norwood High School senior who became eligible to vote only six weeks ago, had outpolled his closest opponent by 600 votes and had become the youngest elected town official in Norwood’s history.

“I was shocked,’’ said McDonough after the results were tallied. “When I started, I didn’t think I had a real chance, but I told myself that if I worked hard I could do it. My family and friends were just great. We had about 40 to 50 of them out there every day, working right up until the end.”

The election was McDonough’s first try at elective office. He polled 2543 votes to win one of three contested seats on the committee. Other winners were incumbent Joseph Pentowski with 1705 and newcomer Roger Pelletier with 1914.

McDonough said he felt his age would create no problems with other committee members and would help bring an inside perspective to the problems facing the schools. Active in school affairs for the past several years, he is currently president of the student council and has been elected class president for the last three years.

“I’m really concerned about what goes on in the school and I hope to take that experience and bring it up to the committee. Now they’ll have somebody who’s going through the system and can give an inside view of how it works, not only for the students, but for the teachers as well.”

McDonough will continue living at home in Norwood with his mother, five brothers and two sisters, and will commute to classes at Boston College in the fall. He has been employed as a store manager at the Guild variety store in Norwood for the last six years.

05 Apr 1983, Tue The Boston Globe