Three-term Portsmouth Town Councilor Dennis Canario sent this press release following his defeat in yesterday's election:

I would like to take this time to thank everyone for giving me the honor of serving as your councilman over the past 6 years. As I stated during my campaign, I realize and truly appreciate all the hard work and effort each and every town employee give of themselves on a daily basis.

Portsmouth certainly faces some challenges ahead such as future budgets and the implementation of the waste water management district. The future budgets are going to require a great deal of commitment in order to preserve education, health and welfare and vital services. The implementation of the WWMD will also be challenging in terms of satisfying our obligations under state law while providing an affordable solution to all town residents.

I would like to thank my family especially my wife Amy, my children, Dennis jr., Jonathan, Olivia, daughter in law Tori, and all my friends who supported my efforts as your town councilor. Although I wish the outcome would have been in my favor, the voters have spoken. We must now move forward as a community and work together to keep Portsmouth the most precious place on earth to live.

Thank you once again for giving me the honor.

Sincerely,
Dennis M Canario

Full disclosure: I've known Dennis since I started covering the Council four years ago, and got to know him much better running with him this year. He is an absolutely straight-up guy, with a ton of common sense, who did his best every minute of his time on the Council, and we will miss his calm, rational voice. Dennis, thank you for your service to the town. All the best to you, Amy, and your wonderful family.