Canton voters gearing up for ‘Super Tuesday’ primary
By Jay TurnerTown election to feature no contested races
This coming Tuesday, March 1, is Primary Day in Massachusetts, and unlike the upcoming April town election, Canton voters will have some honest-to-goodness choices to make as they cast their ballots in the race for the U.S. presidential nomination.
While the field on both the Democratic and Republican sides has thinned in recent weeks, both nominations are still very much up for grabs. And the same is true for the Green-Rainbow Party, which has five active candidates vying for the party’s endorsement.
On the Democratic side, a two-way race has emerged between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and the latest Emerson College poll has the two locked in a virtual dead heat. Roque “Rocky” de la Fuente, a California real estate developer, is also running for the nomination, while a fourth candidate, former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley, formally suspended his campaign as of February 1.
On the GOP ticket, active candidates include billionaire and reality TV star Donald Trump, Texas Senator Ted Cruz, Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Ohio Governor John Kasich, and retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson.
The latest Emerson College poll has Trump way out in front in Massachusetts with 50 percent support, followed by Rubio (16 percent), Kasich (13 percent), and Cruz (10 percent). Carson is a distant fifth with only 2 percent support.
Eight other candidates will also appear on the Republican ballot, but they have all since dropped out of the race, including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush.
On the Green-Rainbow ballot, candidates include Massachusetts physician and former presidential candidate Jill Stein, Sedinam Kinamo Christin Moyowasifza Curry, William Kreml, Kent Mesplay, and Darryl Cherney.
Enrolled voters can only vote in their party’s primary, whereas unenrolled voters can vote in the primary of their choice. Polls will be open on Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations: Canton High School (precincts 1 & 6), Luce Elementary (precinct 2), Blue Hills Regional (precinct 3), and Kennedy Elementary (precincts 4 & 5).
Meanwhile, the field has officially been set in the 2016 annual town election, and for the fourth time in the last six years, Canton will have no contested races.
After a brief reprieve last year with a hotly contested five-way battle for two selectmen’s seats, the election has reverted to a formality, with only 10 candidates returning papers for the 10 available seats.
Seven of the 10 are incumbents, including veteran Selectman John Connolly and longtime assessor Bill Galvin. Also running unopposed for reelection are Housing Authority member Glen Hannington, School Committee member Mike Loughran, and library trustees Kathy Fox Alfano, Margaret Meade, and Emily Prigot.
Three newcomers are also running for open seats in the April election, including Meghan Gannon for School Committee, Tom Scully for Planning Board, and Ruth Slattery for Board of Health. The three candidates will replace incumbents Bob Golledge, Chris Connolly, and Robert Schneiders, all of whom chose not to seek reelection.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=32566
Posted by Jay Turner
on Feb 25 2016. Filed under Town Election.
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