Marblehead candidate forums set for June 6-7

Dustin Luca, The Salem News, Beverly, Mass.
·2 min read

Jun. 6—MARBLEHEAD — A loaded town election ballot for June 21 will be the focus of two nights of forums beginning Monday, June 6, where candidates from five races will be asked to share their visions for Marblehead.

Both nights begin at 7 p.m. and are being conducted virtually on Zoom. They're hosted by PowerUP! 01945, a local voting advocacy organization formed in recent years.

"We'll have a set of questions to ask these candidates, and the panel-slash-forum will be set up as more of a dialogue session than a debate," said PowerUP! founder Megan Sweeney. "We have three questions we consider general that can be asked of all boards and committees, then we have specific questions for each board and committee."

The two nights have a theme: "What's your vision for Marblehead? How will we get there?"

"How will you, as an elected official or a board, make it come to fruition?" Sweeney said. "Rather than just issue-oriented (conversations), we're talking a little higher-level."

The first night will open with the three-way race for two Light Commission seats, where incumbents Walter Homan and Michael Hull are facing a challenge from Jean-Jacques Yarmoff. With 20 minutes slated for that discussion, the night will transition at 7:30 to the seven-way Select Board race.

In that race, all five incumbents — Jackie Belf-Becker, Moses Grader, Erin Noonan, James Nye and Alexa Singer — are being challenged by residents James Full and Bret Murray. The Select Board is scheduled to run for 45 minutes, with closing set for 8:15 p.m.

The second night on Tuesday, June 7, will begin with the two-way Moderator race between John Attridge and Matthew Wolverton. It will then transition to the Board of Health at 7:30 p.m. and School Committee at 7:55 p.m., leading to an 8:40 p.m. closing.

The single-seat Board of Health contest is between residents Helaine Hazlett and Thomas McMahon, while the School Committee race includes incumbent Sarah Fox and challengers Reece Dahlberg and Alison Taylor, with two seats available.

HOW TO TUNE IN

Monday

Agenda: Introductions, 7 p.m.; Light Commission, 7:10 p.m.; Select Board, 7:30 p.m.

Zoom Meeting ID: 822 1673 0033

Meeting passcode: 766835

Tuesday

Agenda: Introductions, 7 p.m.; Moderator, 7:10 p.m.; Board of Health, 7:30 p.m.; School Committee, 7:55 p.m.

Zoom Meeting ID: 882 0292 8514

Meeting passcode: 684006

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.