Special election to fill seats on Select Board
Date: 9/17/2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comEAST LONGMEADOW — By the New Year, East Longmeadow will have two new selectmen.
The Board of Selectmen voted on Sept. 11 to call a Special Town Election to fill both the seat relinquished by former chair Jack Villamaino and the seat soon to be vacated by current chair James Driscoll.
The election will take place on Nov. 20, however, until nomination papers are returned, it is unclear whether that date will be a preliminary election or not, Town Clerk Thomas Florence explained.
If three or more candidates submit nomination papers for either or both positions, a preliminary election would take place on Nov. 20 with the final election on Dec. 19.
Interested parties may now request nomination forms from the town clerk's office, but according to Town Administrator Nick Breault and Florence, they must specify which position they wish to run for.
"You have to declare when you take out papers for which seat it is going to be," Breault told the board.
The person elected to Driscoll's seat would complete his term, which ends in April 2013, at which time they would have to run again for a three-year term. The person elected to Villamaino's seat, would serve out a term that ends in 2014.
A special election became necessary to fill Villamaino's seat after he sent his resignation letter to Florence on Aug. 22.
Villamaino recently lost a Republican primary for the Second Hampden District's seat in the House of Representatives to Longmeadow Selectman Marie Angelides after he disappeared from view following media reports of his involvement in a voter registration fraud scheme.
Driscoll, who had announced in July his intentions to resign from the board in September, agreed to stay on to provide stability to the board, which needs at least two members for a quorum, at Federici's request after Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin and Hampden County District Attorney Mark Mastroianni launched separate investigations into suspected illegal activities surrounding the election.
However, explaining that he didn't wish to make the town pay for two separate special elections, Driscoll stated his intentions to have his seat on the ballot as well.
At the Sept. 11 meeting, Town Counsel James Donahue explained that in order for Driscoll's position to be added to the ballot, he would have to submit a letter revealing an effective date of resignation.
The complication in doing so was the fact that it was unclear whether or not a preliminary election would be needed.
Florence confirmed that Driscoll submitted a letter of resignation with language that allowed him to hold his position until such time as the election was complete.
"He gave it to me today," Florence said on Sept. 12. "If no preliminary election is needed, his resignation would be effective on Nov. 21. If there were a preliminary election, his last day would be Dec. 19.
"It makes sense because if there are preliminary elections for both seats and he resigns on Nov. 21 with neither seat filled, it means that the Board of Selectmen can't operate for almost a month," he continued.
