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Date: 6/27/2022
SOUTH HADLEY – Following discussions on how to fill the vacant seat left on the Selectboard after one of its members died earlier in the month, South Hadley officials have decided to wait on a vote for a special election to fill the seat later this fall.
Sarah Etelman, a member of the Selectboard since 2013, died on June 3 after a battle with cancer at the age of 53. Etelman’s death has created a vacancy on the five-person Selectboard and now the remaining board members must decide soon whether to hold a special election to fill the position or leave the seat open until the term expires in April 2023.
Town Administrator Lisa Wong explained to the Selectboard that should they choose to leave the seat vacant that 200 registered voters could override that decision to force an election if they wanted to. She added the town could also proactively call a special election for the seat alone.
“This is a big loss, there’s no way to enunciate it,” Selectboard member Carol Constant said at their June 21 meeting. “I don’t know what to think. It’s going to be really tough to ask somebody to run for election in the fall and run again in the spring, that’s one of my concerns about it.”
Constant added that the board should consider putting off the decision until voters were allowed to express more feedback to South Hadley officials.
Wong further elaborated on the board’s options, explaining that with a statewide primary election approaching on Sept. 6 and a general election on Nov. 8 the board could choose to hold a special election on those dates. That would save the town money though there would still be costs due to the fact the Selectboard election would have to appear on a separate ballot.
Selectboard member Renee Sweeney suggested that a signature campaign to call an election may give the town a clue as to how much interest there is for somebody to fill the position by the fall, only to have to run again in the spring.
Ultimately, the Selectboard decided to delay a vote on whether to conduct a special election as they were seeking more feedback from voters and because member Andrea Miles was not present at the meeting. They can take up the issue again at their next meeting on July 12, but that would prevent them from calling a special election on Sept. 6 because of deadlines the town has to meet to conduct an election.
The board could take up the vote in a special meeting before then if an overwhelmingly amount of support came in the week after the meeting, according to Wong. Wong and Selectboard members did mention that up to the meeting they had yet to hear from anybody expressing interest in running for the position.
As of press time, no special meeting was scheduled. Reminder Publishing will provide updates in future editions as they are available.