Milford residents can get sneak peek of municipal candidates at March 21 forum

Dan O'Brien, The Milford Daily News
·3 min read

MILFORD — Citizens for Milford, in partnership with Milford TV, is hosting its 10th annual Candidates Forum next week, ahead of the town's April 4 election.

Candidates from three contested races are expected to participate.

This year's forum takes place at 7 p.m. on March 21 in Upper Town Hall. Candidates running for a single three-year seat on the Planning Board, one five-year seat on the Planning Board and two three-year School Committee seats are scheduled to take part, although in the first and last cases it's not every candidate.

Candidates have been invited to meet voters beginning at 6:30 p.m., before the forum begins. The event is free and open to all.

Planning Board candidates who are scheduled to participate include John Ted E. DePaolo Jr. and Michael P. Visconti, who are each vying for a three-year, unexpired seat; and Christopher Wilson, who is seeking a five-year seat against Scott Vecchiolla, who will not be able to attend the forum due to a conflict, according to Citizens for Milford Chair Geri Eddins.

None of the Planning Board candidates is an incumbent.

School Committee candidates scheduled to participate include Martin I. Montoya, Brendan Rickert and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., all newcomers. Eddins said in an email that incumbent Michael Aghajanian would be unable to attend the forum.

Moderators for the forum include Eddins and fellow Citizens for Milford member José Costa, as well as former School Committee member Joe Morais.

The forum will begin with a two-minute opening statement from each candidate. A highlight of the forum will be the presentation of "challenge issues" by the candidates, in which each candidate presents one key issue he believes the Planning Board or School Committee must address. Following this segment, moderators will invite audience members to pose questions.

Milford voters who are unable to attend are encouraged to send candidate questions in advance by email (citizensformilford@gmail.com) or by Facebook messenger (@CitizensforMilford). In addition, Citizens for Milford will accept questions during the live broadcast by email, Facebook messenger or phone, the number of which will be displayed on the TV screen during each broadcast.

Milford TV will broadcast the forum live on the public channel (Comcast 8 | Verizon 38), Verizon channel HD 2140, MilfordTV.net and the Milford TV app. In addition, the forum will be recorded for on-demand viewing.

Meanwhile, several races on April 4 are uncontested. Those include:

  • Selectman (one three-year seat): Thomas O'Loughlin (incumbent)

  • Moderator (one three-year seat): Michelangelo BonTempo (incumbent)

  • Town clerk (one three-year seat): Amy Hennessy Neves (incumbent)

  • Water commissioner (one three-year seat): Philip Ciaramicoli

  • Water commissioner (one two-year seat): Jonathan Bruce

  • Water commissioner (one one-year seat): Jamie Luchini

  • Sewer commissioner (one three-year seat): Leonardo Morcone (incumbent)

  • Board of Assessors (one three-year seat): Steven Borges (incumbent)

  • Board of Library Trustees (two three-year seats): Edward Bertorelli (incumbent) and Mary Frances Best

  • Board of Health (one three-year seat): Leonard Izzo Sr. (incumbent)

  • Parks commissioner (one three-year seat): Paul Braza (incumbent)

  • Highway surveyor (one three-year seat): Scott Crisafulli (incumbent)

  • Vernon Grove trustees (two three-year seats): Scott Crisafulli (incumbent)

  • Tree warden (one three-year term): Charles Reneau (incumbent)

  • Town Meeting members (Precincts 1-8; top 30 get seats): Janet Casey (Precinct 2); Douglas Rennie (Precinct 3); Mitchell Ruscitti (Precinct 5); Angelo Calagione and Matthew Zacchilli (Precinct 6).

Polls will be open on April 4 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

More information about the forums and the candidates is available at CitizensforMilford.com. Questions can be emailed to CitizensforMilford@gmail.com.

Citizens for Milford is a volunteer organization that works with town entities and other community groups to carry out projects and events that encourage active citizen participation and that seek to improve Milford's quality of life.

This article originally appeared on The Milford Daily News: Citizens for Milford hosts candidates forum on March 21