Incumbents face little opposition in town election
By Jay TurnerIt will be a quiet election season for the town of Canton in 2010 as Friday’s deadline to submit nomination papers came and went with little fanfare, producing just a single contested race.
The lone contest in the April 6 election will pit incumbent Housing Authority member Ron Grinnell against challenger Jason Dupre, while all other candidates, including incumbent Selectman John Connolly, will run unopposed.
Connolly, first elected in 1989 to a then three-member board, will seek his eighth consecutive term, which would put him in a tie with Selectman Avril Elkort for the longest current streak.
Also running unopposed for reelection will be state Representative William C. Galvin, who will seek a ninth consecutive term on the Board of Assessors; former selectman and incumbent Planning Board member George Jenkins, who will seek another five-year term; and current School Committee Chairman Reuki Schutt, who will seek her third consecutive three-year term.
The one notable departure this year is on the School Committee, where Dr. Robert Barker, an infectious diseases specialist and the committee’s longest-tenured member, will step down after nine years of service. Taking Barker’s place will be former colleague John Bonnanzio, who will seek his second term following a two-year hiatus from local politics. Bonnanzio, who served from 2005 to 2008, will now run unopposed after CAPE member Jill Stevens decided not to submit her nomination papers.
The remaining candidates, all incumbents, will also go unchallenged in the annual spring election: Betty Chelmow, Kathy Fox Alfano and Margaret Mead for three-year terms on the Library Board of Trustees, and Robert Schneiders for a three-year term on the Board of Health.
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