Canton backs Obama, Community Preservation Act
By Jay Turner
Voters were in line at the Kennedy School at 7 a.m. in 30 degree temperatures on Tuesday to cast their votes.
It was a busy and action-packed Election Day in Canton Tuesday as voters said yes to four more years of President Barack Obama while also throwing their support behind the Community Preservation Act (CPA) as well as two statewide ballot proposals: the Right to Repair bill and the legalization of medical marijuana.
Similar to the 2008 election, Obama was once again a solid although not overwhelming favorite in Canton, as he carried 52 percent of the vote while winning all but one of the town’s six precincts. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney garnered 47 percent of the vote and claimed a strong victory in the fourth precinct, while the two third party candidates, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, received only minimal support — with 100 votes cast for Johnson and just 37 for Stein.
When it came to the United States Senate race, Canton leaned heavily in favor of Republican Scott Brown, who lost his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren despite carrying most of the south and north shores and nearly all of central Massachusetts. Brown captured 55 percent of the vote in Canton, including all six precincts, whereas Warren cleaned up in many neighboring communities, including Sharon, Randolph and Milton.
In the race for U.S. representative in the newly formed 8th district, Canton voters overwhelmingly preferred the Democratic incumbent, Stephen Lynch, over GOP challenger Joe Selvaggi, who garnered a little over 3,000 votes compared to Lynch’s 8,523.
As for the ballot questions, no group was happier on Election Day than the supporters of the Community Preservation Act, who claimed a resounding victory in Canton with an estimated 56 percent of the voters choosing to adopt the measure.
An optional state law, the CPA will now enable Canton to establish a dedicated fund for the preservation of open space, historic resources, affordable housing, and outdoor recreation. The program will be funded by a 1 percent surcharge on the annual real estate tax levy, excluding the first $100,000 of residential property and with exemptions for low-income residents and low- or moderate-income seniors. The town will also be eligible for annual matching funds distributed through the statewide CPA trust.
Meanwhile, Canton voters went the way of the state on each of the three statewide ballot questions, as voters overwhelmingly supported Questions 1 (right to repair) and 3 (medical marijuana) while narrowly defeating Question 2, the so-called “Death with Dignity” proposal, which would have allowed terminally ill patients meeting certain conditions to end their life with assistance from a physician.
Approximately 88 percent of voters in Canton (85 percent across the state) supported the Right to Repair bill, which will require motor vehicle manufacturers to share diagnostic and repair information with car owners and independent repair facilities.
The town was also right on par with state results for Question 3, with 60 percent of residents expressing support for the medical use and sale of marijuana within the commonwealth.
Town Clerk Tracy Kenney said an estimated 90 percent of registered Canton voters made their way to the polls on Tuesday, which would equal or perhaps exceed the turnout in the historic 2008 election, when voters made Obama the first African American president in United States history.
The turnout resulted in long lines and large crowds at some of the polling locations during peak voting times; however, despite the chilly temperatures and the overall congestion, voters remained in high spirits and workers reported minimal problems at each of the polling locations.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=17228
Posted by Jay Turner
on Nov 7 2012. Filed under News, Town Election.
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