By RUSS OLIVO

WOONSOCKET – Political newcomer Christopher M. Fierro became the city’s next state representative from District 51 Tuesday night with a winning tally of just 279 votes.

Next in line were Robert D. Phillips, 120 votes; Richard A. Picard, 100; Joseph D. Barroso, 35; and Bamby L. Mohamed, 26.

Well after the Board of Canvassers released the results, however, a poll worker for Lahousse’s campaign claimed the city’s tallies were incorrect. Debbie Okruta, Lahousse’s sister, said Fierro and Lahousse still finished first and second, respectively, but the city had failed to include in the totals votes for every candidate collected at Woonsocket High School and Pothier School, two of the district’s five polling places. The Board of Canvassers could be reached for comment at press time.

Because there is no Republican challenger on the November ballot, the primary settles the District 51 contest for Fierro, barring a successful last-minute write-in candidacy. A father of three who moved to the city several years ago, Fierro has never held public office before and was a complete unknown before the campaign.

“We built a grassroots team of different progressive organizations, we put people in the streets and we worked our butts off,” said Fierro when asked how he pulled off the victory.

Fierro, 28, of 137 Ridge St., is employed as a research specialist for the New England Carpenters Labor Management Program and had campaigned on themes of improving the living standards of working people. Some members of the General Assembly had supported Fierro, who had also secured the political endorsements of the United Nurses & Allied Professionals, the union that represents health care workers at Landmark Medical Center, and the International Association of Firefighters, the city firefighter’s union.

In radio ads and press releases, opponents portrayed Fierro as the too-liberal handmaiden of organized labor. But as he prepared to celebrate his victory with family and friends Monday night at the Burrito Company on Cass Avenue, Fierro said the only special interests he cares about are those of working people.

 “I’m not beholden to anyone but the people of District 51,” he said. “My special interest is working families.”

Some political observers thought Picard – the brother of State Sen. Roger Picard (D-Dist. 20) might have used name recognition to his advantage in the race. Roger Picard was also the last person to hold the District 51 House seat, vacant since last September, when he won a special election to fill the senate seat emptied by the death of former Senate veteran Roger Badeau. In the end, however, Richard Picard, an automotive technology instructor from the Chariho Regional High School, finished a distant fourth, with just 13 percent of the vote.

In addition to Lahousse, the owner of Kay’s Restaurant, the race also included a banker (Phillips), a retired firefighter (Barroso) and a CVS tax associate (Mohamed). Most of the candidates agreed that the economy, jobs, exploring alternative energy, and securing the future of financially troubled Landmark Medical Center were the most compelling issues in the race.