Special election could put 'monkey wrench' in Town Meeting schedule
Date: 1/17/2013
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comLONGMEADOW — The Select Board recently voted to set the dates for the 2013 Annual Town Meeting and Annual Election, despite possible issues stemming from a potential special Senate race.
Town Clerk Katherine Ingram suggested to the board that the Annual Town Meeting should take place on May 7 at 7 p.m. at the new high school's gymnasium, however, Chair Paul Santaniello voiced concerns over the possibility of a special election for John Kerry's Senate seat falling on the same day.
"The only monkey wrench that can go into this is if there is a special election for U.S. Senate, and there's nothing we can do about it because it's going to be whenever the state decides that there will be a special election, if there is one," he said. "The Town Meeting on May 7, that is where the monkey wrench really comes in because if there's a special election on Tuesday [May] 7 and we have an Annual Town Meeting, we may have to change our meeting because we'll have staff at two different locations."
Selectman Marie Angelides questioned why the Annual Town Meeting could not be moved to May 14, which was also recommended as the date for a preliminary town election, if needed.
"I had a conversation with Katherine about that as well and it seems that the gymnasium at the [high] school is booked that week as well for the whole week," Santaniello explained. "I don't think we have the staff to man an election and a town meeting, an Annual Town Meeting especially. That's not a knock on the staff, it's just two big events that are happening at the same time that I don't think we have people for."
Vice Chair Mark Gold suggested that if the gymnasium was not available, the meeting could take place in the auditorium, an option Santaniello and Acting Town Manager Barry Del Castilho said had not been explored. Santaniello agreed that the town should be looking into a backup plan regarding location.
Gold also asked why the meeting had to be scheduled at that time with questions lingering and why the meeting couldn't take place after May 14 if there was a potential conflict on that date. Santaniello explained that the date had to be set because of regulations regarding deadlines for petitions and warrant articles. He also explained that the Annual Town Meeting should precede the election in case there is a referendum item or some other business that would require an election, so as to avoid having a special election.
Del Castilho suggested voting to adopt the schedule recommended by Ingram and if there is a conflict with a Senate race, the town could publicize a change and on May 7, a motion could be made to continue the Annual Town Meeting to another date.
The board agreed and unanimously voted for the May 7 date with the location — either the high school's gymnasium or auditorium — to be determined.
The last day to register to vote in the Annual Town Meeting is April 17 and the warrant will be posted by April 23.
The Annual Town Election was also set for June 11, with the preliminary election, if necessary, on May 14.
This year's election includes two three-year Select Board terms for seats currently held by Gold and Mark Barowsky, two three-year School Committee terms for positions occupied by Chair Jennifer Jester and Gerard Kiernan and Gerald Nolet's five-year term on the Planning Board. Ronald Manseau is also up for re-election to the Housing Authority.
The last day to obtain nomination papers is March 22 and the papers must be returned by 5 p.m. on March 26. The last day to register to vote in the possible preliminary would be April 24 and the deadline to register for the Annual Town Election is May 22.
