As deadline passes, contested races take form in town election

Feb 14, 2018

Every candidate who took out papers to run in the April Town Election ballot has returned paperwork to appear on the ballot.

The deadline to take out nomination paperwork was February 9, and the deadline to return the paperwork with the required signatures for certification was February 13. Town Clerk Lynn Medeiros is still certifying the paperwork, but said all candidates for town boards and committees have returned their paperwork.

Two Select Board members are facing re-election. Incumbent Frank Gracie is currently running unopposed.

Incumbent Kelli Martin Taglianetti announced she is not running for re-election, but her seat will be a contested race. Finance Committee Chair David Tatelbaum and Planning Board member Lorri-Ann Miller are both running for the three-year term.

In the Planning Board race, John V. Sousa is running for re-election unopposed. Shannon Jenkins is running to keep her three-year School Committee seat, also unopposed. James Bosworth and Joan Britto are running for re-election to keep their Board of Parks and Recreation seats.

Leslie E. J. McKinley is running for her third three-year term on the Board of Health. Four people are running for three vacant seats on the Housing Authority of varying term lengths: Michael Mattos, David Brodeur, Bradford Thelin, and Kyle Ross.

Lynn Medeiros is running unopposed to keep her seat as Town Clerk. Incumbents Stanley J. Bielusiak and Ilene Levine are running for the Trustee of the Free Public Libraries. John Furtado is up for re-election to Assessors. All are three- year terms.

The next candidate deadline is March 1, the time candidates intending to withdraw must do so.

The last day to register to vote in the election is March 14. On that day, the Town Clerk’s Office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. to accommodate people wishing to register.

The election is on April 3. Residents heading to the polls who are in Precincts 1 and 4 will be heading to new polling locations. Precinct No. 1’s polling place was moved to the Hixville Church, 1190 N Hixville Rd., and Precinct No. 4’s polling place is now at the Dartmouth Bible Church, 52 Morton Ave. Affected residents will receive letters detailing the change in the coming weeks.