The deadline for returning papers passed. There will be one contested race on the ballot for the Town Election this May. That is a 3-way race for the 2 Select Board seats.
While many incumbents are running unopposed for other seats, there are also some candidates running unopposed to fill seats that incumbents are vacating.
The Southborough Library has already scheduled its annual Candidates’ Night.
Below are more details related to the May 12th Annual Town Election.
It is worth noting that the details below could change. Candidates have until April 9th to pull out. (After that, even if they withdraw, their names will appear on the ballot.)
Select Board Race
Marguerite Landry was elected to the Select Board in 2023. She is running for a second term.
Sam Stivers is running to recapture a seat on the board, following his defeat last spring. In that 3-way race, Stivers came in third place by only two votes. He had been running for a third term on the board following his 2019 election in a 4-way race and unopposed re-election in 2022.
Andrew Pfaff is the newcomer to elections. But he has been involved in Town politics for years through appointed positions. That includes his current seat on the Advisory Committee, which he also formerly chaired.
If they take up the invitations, they’ll get a chance to make their cases to voters both through Candidates Statements on this blog later this spring, and through the Library’s event. . .
Save the Date for Candidates’ Night — April 29th
The Southborough Library will host the event on Wednesday, April 29th from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. (This time, it will be at the library, not the Senior Center.)
Every year, candidates to contested positions in the Town Election are invited to participate in a moderated panel. This year, the Select Board Candidates will be invited to make brief speeches and answer questions from the public.
The program will be moderated by Library Trustee Janet Maney at 7:00 pm.
Prior to that, all candidates on the ballot are invited to the Meet & Greet with light refreshments. That includes candidates who are running unopposed.
Changing of the Guards
Below are the candidates who are running unopposed to take on new roles in our Town government.
- Housing Authority – Scott Navaroli (replacing Robert Braccio)
- Planning Board – Tom Truong (replacing Meme Luttrell)
- Southborough School Committee – Kelly Conklin (replacing Denise Eddy)
- Northborough-Southborough Regional School Committee:
- Southborough seats: Denise Eddy (replacing Paul Desmond)
- Northborough seats: Meagan Sanko & Erin Tagliaferi (replacing Christopher Covino & Sean O’Shea)
Also worth highlighting. . .
For the Select Board, one of the two seats that the candidates are running for is to replace incumbent Al Hamilton.
And, while Town Clerk Jim Hegarty is running for re-election (unopposed), he is also seeking to make the election to that seat irrelevant. As I previously posted, Hegarty has put forward an Article asking Annual Town Meeting voters to approve changing the position to an appointed seat. That would be followed by a question on the Town Election ballot to authorize the change.
If the change is approved, he hopes the Select Board will find a replacement so he can retire this summer/fall. (He could be replaced within days of the election, but it is more likely the board would appoint him to temporarily fill the role.)
I’m not clear how much of the 3 year term Hegarty would be willing to serve if the Warrant Article or ballot question fail. But the fact that no one chose to run against him as part of an effort to protect keeping it an elected seat would seem to take the wind out of any opposition to the change.
Voting in the Election
The Annual Town Election is on Tuesday, May 12th from 6:30 am to 8:00 pm in the gym at Trottier Middle School, 49 Parkerville Road.
The deadline to register as a Southborough voter for this election is 8:00 pm on on May 1st. (To verify your current registration status, click here.)
The deadline to submit an application to vote by mail is May 5th.
You can find more details on the Town’s website here.
