Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/12/2022
LEVERETT – Annual Town Meeting and elections are scheduled for April 30 this year, with candidates available for every position. The majority are seeking re-election to posts they currently occupy.
Leverett is the only municipality in the commonwealth that elects officials on the floor of Town Meeting. As the Special Election Edition of the town newsletter noted, “This method results in … standing ovations, memorable quotes and speeches, and the rare election of those not present.”
Lisa Stratford, town clerk for the last 30 years said, “When I was younger there were people who were nominated and elected, who were not there. They did not decline … [so] maybe it’s a tactic that works.”
The School Committee needs two seats filled now that Aaron Buford and Gene Stamell both submitted statements on their retirement from the committee. Both voiced appreciation for their time in service. Stamell said, “Colleagues … have modeled for me the meaning of true citizenship.”
Buford said, “Let’s preserve this local gem and surround the school community with support.”
Buford wrote that he isn’t running for re-election, but if he again becomes interested in serving he must attend Town Meeting – or have a proxy raise his name for consideration – because there is no absentee balloting.
“The one complication,” Stratford said of holding elections at Town Meeting, “is that it eliminates the possibility of absentee voting. You have to be at Town Meeting to vote. That’s true of Town Meeting in general, but also true of elections held at Town Meeting.”
Cat Ford, seeking re-election to the Board of Assessors, elaborated on her work to determine if the valuation of more expensive properties in Leverett follows a national trend of undervaluation.
That means “lower value properties are carrying more than their fair share of the tax burden,” Ford wrote. The Assessors “have embarked on a project to figure out if this pattern is present in Leverett as well.”
Ford hopes to continue her work on the project.
The School Committee is one of four bodies that have two seats opening up, however briefly. Ford and Sam Black want to continue on the Zoning Board of Assessors. Georgie Smith and Elaine Barker are not seeking re-election to the Library Trustees. On the Finance Committee, Phil Carter and Steve Nagy will both be seeking re-election.
Carter wrote a statement in support of his re-election effort. He has sat on the Finance Committee for the last seven years, worked with the School Committee and all town departments, all while struggling to keep the tax rate low.
Many other officials are returning to their seats. Jean Bergstrom on the Planning Board, Constable Tom Masterton, Michael Fair on the Board of Health, and Julie Shively on the Select Board are renewing their commitments.
“Attracting new talent is the challenge this year,” Stratford said. “It tends to be the older folks in town. We’re trying to rope in some of the new, younger folks.”
Another difference when hosting elections at Town Meeting is the nomination process: they occur on the floor of Town Meeting. There are no nomination papers, no required signatures from residents.
“You submit a statement and I put it in the town newsletter,” Stratford said. “Then on the day of Town Meeting someone will nominate you … If it’s an uncontested race we take a voice vote. If it’s a contested race there’s a paper ballot, which is voted on, on the spot.”