Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 4/4/2023
SOUTH HADLEY — Polls will open for the Annual Town Election on April 11 and residents will vote to fill positions across the different town bodies.
The Selectboard race will have incumbent Andrea Miles and recent interim addition to the board Nicole Casolari running unopposed for the two open seats. Casolari joined the Selectboard after a special election last November to fill the vacant seat following the death of previous board member Sarah Etelman.
Etelman’s passing created a vacancy on the board, and instead of leaving the seat open until its expiration in April of this year, the board chose to have a special election to replace the seat for the half year remaining on the term.
“The town, the community, it really means a lot to me,” Casolari told Reminder Publishing after being elected to fill the remainder of the vacant role. She added then that she was planning on running for a full term in this upcoming election.
Casolari has previous experience in the Recreation Department, at Town Hall as an intern in the Selectboard’s office, in the clerk’s office for about four years and currently as a math teacher at South Hadley High School. She also served on the Board of Registrars and has been a Town Meeting member.
Miles seeks reelection of her position on the board for what would be a third term since joining in 2017. Miles has been a leader on the board over the course of her tenure, including previously serving as board chair before now being vice chair.
In the openings on the School Committee, incumbent Lynda Pickbourn-Smith looks to be reelected on a three-year term. The other position looking to be filled on the committee, a one-year term, has candidate Lawrence Dixon running unopposed. This seat is opening as current interim committee member Kyle Belanger is not seeking reelection.
Belanger, a three-year School Committee veteran, was appointed to the interim role last summer after the resignation of former Chair Jackson Matos due to health issues. Belanger made clear from his appointment that he was taking the role to help fill the gap into the 2023 election and had no interest in running again. He noted then that he stepped away from the School Committee in 2021 after feeling burnt out.
The Planning Board has two three-year terms up for election but incumbents Diane Mulvaney and Nate Therian will both be running unopposed for reelection.
The Municipal Light Board has Chair John Hine running for reelection for a three-year term. This board oversees the South Hadley Electric Light Department and responds directly to the needs and input of local residents and business owners.
The Municipal Light Board also sets utility policy and oversees SHELD’s operations through the department’s manager. The ballot also has a one-year term for the board listed but there are no candidates for the position.
In the race for Trustees of the Public Library, incumbents David Morrell, Susan Obremski-Crowther and Gillian Woldorf all are seeking reelection on a three-year term while candidate Anne Moore looks to become a new addition to the Trustees. Only three candidates can be chosen.
The 2022 annual town election saw the lowest turnout in recorded town history. According to the data collected by the town of South Hadley, last year’s election saw a total of 647 registered voters cast a ballot out of the town’s 12,107 total registered voters, 5.34% in voter turnout. The two years prior saw a 17% turnout in 2021, and 38.32% in 2020.
For each ballot, voters will also have to vote for their precinct representatives for Town Meeting members. In every district, many of the candidates running to represent their precinct are seeking reelection. There are eight positions available for each precinct.
Sample ballots for the upcoming annual Town Election can be found by precinct on southadley.org under elections.
Election day voting on April 11 will take place at South Hadley High School located at 153 Newton St. Polls are open 7 a.m. through 8 p.m.