Heavy ballot to greet Marblehead voters
May 11—MARBLEHEAD — This year's election ballot won't have a dozen Select Board candidates, but it'll nonetheless be heavy. More than half the races are contested.
Voters in this year's municipal elections on June 21 will have seven contested races to settle, as well as ballot measures to move forward with Proposition 2 1/2 overrides accepted at Annual Town Meeting last week. Only six races are uncontested, with as many candidates as there are openings in each, according to Town Clerk Robin Michaud.
Leading the ballot will be the seven-way Select Board race, where all five of the newly renamed board's current members are running for another year: Jackie Belf-Becker, Moses Grader, Erin Noonan, James Nye, and Alexa Singer. They're challenged by Bret Murray and James Full. The top five vote-getters will then make up the board at the first post-election meeting.
The town also has a two-way race for moderator, where residents John Attridge and Matthew Wolverton are vying for the seat occupied by retiring moderator Gary Spiess. Spiess has occupied the role for 16 years.
Contests for Library Trustee, Light Commissioner and School Committee have each drawn three candidates for two open seats. On the School Committee, incumbent Sarah Fox is facing opposition from Alison Taylor and Reece Dahlberg. The Light Commission has a race between incumbents Michael Hull and Walter Homan, and challenger Jean-Jacques Yarmoff. The Library Trustee race, meanwhile, has three new faces in the running: Deborah Payson, Jennifer Jewell, and Judy Gates.
The ballot also has two further races with two candidates competing for one open seat. That includes the Board of Health, where incumbent Helaine Hazlett is challenged by Thomas McMahon.
The Cemetery Commission is looking to fill two seats — one an uncontested three-year term for Richard Coletti, the other a one-year seat to finish a term vacated by resignation, according to Michaud. While the three-year seat has no contest, the one-year seat has drawn the attention of town residents Pam Peterson and Rose Ann Wheeler McCarthy.
Candidates have until Monday, May 16, to withdraw, at which time the ballot becomes final, according to Michaud. The deadline to register to vote is Wednesday, June 1.
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.
