Town elections: Who's running for what in Fairhaven, Dartmouth and Westport

Matthew Ferreira, Standard-Times
·4 min read

Local election season is in full swing, and voters in Fairhaven, Dartmouth and Westport have some decisions to make at the polls with contested races in all three towns, including spots on the Fairhaven and Dartmouth school committees, and Westport Board of Selectmen.

With deadlines for filing candidacies now past, let's take a look at what to expect on the ballots.

Fairhaven

  • Election date: Monday, April 3, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

  • Voter registration deadline: Tuesday, March 24, 8 p.m.

  • Mail-in ballot request deadline: March 27

  • Candidate withdrawal deadline: March 1, 5 p.m.

Fairhaven voters will have two contests to decide on.

On the School Committee, current Chair Pam Kuechler is not running for reelection, leaving Vice Chair Brian Monroe the only candidate running as an incumbent. The two spots have three newcomers vying for them: Laura Gardner, Stephanie Pickup and Brendalee Smith.

Fairhaven voters will decide on contested spots on the School Committee and Planning Board.
Fairhaven voters will decide on contested spots on the School Committee and Planning Board.

The Planning Board has two incumbents running for reelection: Current Chair Wayne Hayward and Rene Fleurent, Jr. They face challenges from candidates Patrick Carr and Ruy DaSilva.

Upcoming vacanies

On the Board of Public Works, candidate Daniel Lopes is running to fill one posted vacancy, and Chair Brian Wotten is running as an incumbent.

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Board of Health candidate Justine Frezza is running for an opening that will be left by member Michael Ristuccia, who is not seeking reelection for his expiring three-year term.

Uncontested incumbents

Uncontested incumbents not mentioned above, and their term lengths, are: Keith Silvia (Select Board, three years); Charles Murphy, Sr. (Select Board, three years); Louise Ponte (Commissioner of Trust Funds, three years); and Carol Alfonso (Housing Authority, five years).

Dartmouth

  • Election date: April 4, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  • Voter registration deadline: Saturday, March 25, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  • Mail-in ballot request deadline: Tuesday, March 28, 5 p.m.

  • Candidate withdrawal deadline: March 2, 5 p.m.

In Dartmouth, the only contested seat will be for School Committee incumbent Kathleen Amaral's three-year term. Amaral's campaign for reelection has four challengers: Elizabeth Coughlin, Erica Morency, Troy Tufano and Lynne Turner.

Dartmouth voters have a choice to make on one spot on the School Committee.
Dartmouth voters have a choice to make on one spot on the School Committee.

Upcoming vacancy

The town has one vacancy on the Housing Authority for which no candidates have filed to run for.

Uncontested incumbents

Dartmouth's uncontested reelection candidates, and their term lengths, are: Stanley Mickelson (Select Board, three years); Robert Michaud (Board of Assessors, three years); Joan-Maria Proulx (Trustee of Free Public Libraries, three years); Lisa Tufano (Trustee of Free Public Libraries, three years); Emily Michele Olmsted (Board of Health, three years); Christopher O'Neil (Planning Board, five years); Sherri Tetrault (Parks and Recreation Board, three years).

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Westport

  • Election date: Tues, April 11

  • Voter registration deadline: Saturday, April 1, 5 p.m.

  • Mail-in ballot request deadline: April 4, 5 p.m.

  • Candidate withdrawal deadline: March 9

In Westport, there will be three contests for voters to decide.

For the Board of Selectmen, Steve Ouellette is the only candidate running as an incumbent, with member Brian Valcourt not seeking reelection. Those two spots have two newcomers aiming to fill them: Christopher Thrasher and Manuel Soares.

Westport voters have decisions to make on races for Board of Selectmen, Board of Library Trustees and Town Clerk.
Westport voters have decisions to make on races for Board of Selectmen, Board of Library Trustees and Town Clerk.

Board of Library Trustees incumbent Pauline Dooley, current chair, is running for reelection with two challengers: Paul Cabral and Paula Feitelberg.

With Town Clerk Bernadette Oliver not seeking reelection, the race for that position is between current Assistant Town Clerk Kristin Stinson and Kayleigh Vieira.

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Upcoming vacancies

Board of Assessors candidate Peter McGarr looks to fill the seat of member Ethan Grillo, who is not seeking reelection; and School Committee candidate Evan Gendreau is running to fill an uncontested vacancy on the Westport School Committee.

Uncontested incumbents

Uncontested incumbents running for reelection are: Donna Amaral (Board of Health); Paul Jennings (Diman Regional School Committee); Sean Leach running (Fish Commissioner), Wendy Henderson (Board of Landing Commissioners); John Bullard (Planning Board); Marshall Ronco (constable); Arthur Caesar (constable).

Up ahead: Acushnet

It's still early to tell how Acushnet's town elections will shape up, with the deadline to draw candidacy papers coming up on March 21, to be filed by March 24. Then, candidates will have until April 11 to withdraw.

For Acushnet voters who want to cast ballots in the upcoming town election, voter registration deadline is May 3, and voters have until May 8 to request a mail-in ballot.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Who's running for what in Dartmouth, Fairhaven and Westport elections