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Date: 4/26/2022
GRANBY – With the upcoming Annual Town Election on May 16, ballots are incoming, and the field is set for the yearly election.
The 2022 ballot will see nine office vacancies across different town municipalities. The only vacancy looking for more than one newly elected person is for a spot on the Board of Library Trustees, as three, three-year seats need filling.
The three candidates for the library trustees positions are all running for re-election and are unopposed in their efforts.
Helen Hurteau, Michele Pietras and Candace Ribeiro are the three candidates for this position on the ballot.
For the one open position on the Select Board, incumbent Jennifer Silva looks to secure another three-year term. Running against Silva is newcomer Crystal Dufresne. William Porter III will be running for re-election as town assessor. Porter is running unopposed and is set to be re-elected for another three-year term.
The Board of Health looks to fill a seat and it will go to a first timer. Seamus Connolly and William Shaheen will go head-to-head for the three-year term position.
Another position of note on this year’s ballot is there are no candidates running for the available three-year term School Committee position. Write-ins are accepted but if nobody wants the position, the School Committee will continue business as usual with an open seat.
The Housing Authority and Planning Board both look to fill one seat for a five-year term. Gloria Vivier is running for re-election of the Housing Authority position while Melissa St. Germain Martel will run unopposed for the Planning Board.
In the race for Commissioner of Burial Grounds Ronald Harrop is running for re-election for the three-year term and if facing challenger Stuart Bailly.
Town Clerk Katherine Kelly-Regan, who is also on the ballot unopposed for re-election, said with the limited number of seats available for each position, she doesn’t expect anything out of the ordinary for voter turnout on election day.
“Town Elections are relatively a low turnout. Sadly, that’s just the way it is I guess, but I have always felt Granby does a little better than some of the other communities where some might get under 10 percent [of turnout]” said Kelly-Regan.
Kelly-Regan also said that Select Board, School Committee and Board of Health races typically bring out more voters depending on how many positions need to be filled. She said she would be more than happy with a 15 percent voter turnout, but history shows it will most likely be between 10 to 12 percent in her estimate.
Kelly-Regan also noted that coming out of the pandemic, many voters may have to be reminded of going to the polls in person as many voters opted to use mail-in ballots during the last two years. The convenience of voting from home may be a reason for the steady turnout of voters the last two years.
Kelly-Regan encourages voters to know they still have the option to apply for an absentee ballot if they are not going to be able to make the polls in person. With the election falling on a Monday, absentee ballots are available until 5 p.m. on May 13 through the Town Clerk’s office.
Polling will be at the Granby Junior-Senior High School. Polls will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.