'We want to be compliant.' Hyannis fire district adjusts nominee dates after state notice

A change has been made this year in the annual Hyannis Fire District election for Board of Commissioners, due to a lack of compliance cited last year by the Secretary of the Commonwealth's Elections Division.

The district “was not in compliance with the state election laws relative to nomination papers,” according to a November 2023 email from Michelle Tassinari, Director and Legal Counsel of the Secretary of the Commonwealth Elections Division, obtained by the Times.

Former Fire District Commission member Richard Gallagher, who last served on the board in 2014 and lives now outside the fire district, said Tuesday he was told last year that nomination papers for the election were not available when he said they should have been.

Last year there was a turnover in staff and some confusion between the district's bylaws and the official state ballots, Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Peter Cross said on Thursday.

"There was some transition that happened there. There was some opening there for things to get confused," Cross said.

"We want to be compliant with the laws but we're also governed by a set of bylaws that we have to live by," Cross said. "We're constantly looking at both sides."

The Hyannis Fire Department serves approximately nine square miles of land along with Lewis Bay and Hyannis Harbor, according to the fire department website. The district's year-round population is 18,000 but during the summer the population can increase to as many as 100,000.

Last year's schedule for nomination papers

For last year's election, there was one position open on the Board of Commissioners for a three-year term, according to the legal notice on Jan. 3, 2023.

Fifty valid signatures were required to run, and nomination papers were to be submitted to the town of Barnstable Registrars of Voters for certification no later than 4 p.m. on March 3, 2023, and returned to the clerk of the fire district by March 17, 2023, according to the notice.

The election was scheduled for May 16, 2023, according to the notice.

The Hyannis Fire District uses official state ballots for its elections, according to its bylaws. As such, all district elections are required to be held in accordance with Massachusetts General Laws pertaining to elections.

What is alleged to have happened last year?

Gallagher said during an interview on Tuesday that he had been asked by some members of the community at the end of February 2023 about the process of obtaining election nomination papers. He had said they would need to get papers from the fire district clerk, fill them out, fulfill the requisite standards and file them one month before the May election.

But on March 3, Gallagher said, he was told nomination papers were unavailable.

“That was very puzzling to me,” said Gallagher, a commissioner of 24 years. “Because you are supposed to have 35 days prior to the election date, in May, to get and turn in your papers — which would bring you into April, not early March.”

Generally, the fire district bylaws say that official ballots as defined in state law shall be used, and that in district elections in which official ballots are used, nominations for elections by ballot shall be made in accordance with state law, so far as applicable.

A spokesperson for the Secretary of State’s Elections Division said if the district voted to operate under the state’s election laws — therefore using official state ballots for its elections — then it would be a violation of state election law and its own bylaws to deny the public access to nomination papers prior to the deadline.

Gallagher said his concern lies in a potential usurpation of the democratic process.

“I've never had it happen in 24 years,” Gallagher said. “The greatest and most sacred thing we have is our democracy, and for the system to shut down nomination papers so people can’t run is unconscionable.”

Hyannis Fire District response to 2023 citation for 'not in compliance'

The early March deadline used in last year's election has been in place for several years, Cross said. A later March deadline is now in place for this year, he said.

Last year, "nobody was denied papers, and we advertised in the Cape Cod Times for 80 days," Cross said.

"The email from the Secretary of State relates to the fact that we are a fire district, we're not a municipality, and we are governed by a set of bylaws that were adopted eons ago," Cross said. "The Hyannis Fire District was founded in 1896 and there have been numerous iterations of our bylaws."

There's some confusion between the district's bylaws and the official state ballots, he said.

"Supposedly," Cross said of the lack of compliance.

"We've been setting the dates of elections for years," Cross said. "I've been a commissioner. This is my 10th year. It predates my running. I ran the first time, I think, 2010."

Plus, adding to the confusion last year, a clerk-treasurer with the district for 19 years retired. A new clerk-treasurer came in, and is doing a good job, he said.

The chair of the board is on medical leave, Cross said.

"I repeat again, nobody was denied nomination papers last year, nobody came in looking for nomination papers, and nobody was denied nomination papers, Cross said.

Cross said he ran for reelection unopposed in 2023.

When asked about changes made, Cross referred to the legal notice advertising the upcoming election and the district website with election information.

"There are new dates this year, the papers are out and people are gathering signatures," he said.

"That's where we are. There's no skullduggery on my part," Cross said.

What elections are upcoming?

For this year's election to be held on May 14, the nomination papers were available Jan. 2, according to the district election schedule online and the published notice. The nomination papers have to be filed by March 26 to the town of Barnstable Registrars of Voters for certification of signatures and by April 9 with the district clerk.

The election is for two positions on the Board of Commissioners for three-year terms and one position for moderator for a three-year term.

Walker Armstrong reports on all things Cape and Islands, primarily focusing on courts, transportation and the Joint Base Cape Cod military base. Contact him at WArmstrong@capecodonline.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jd__walker.

Staff writer Mary Ann Bragg contributed to this story.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Hyannis fire district cited by state for election mishap. What we know