3-way BOS race to headline 2019 town election

The field has been set for the 2019 annual town election and it’s a bit more diverse than in recent years with eight women and seven newcomers among the 12 candidates vying for office.

Unfortunately, voters will still not have many choices to make since only one of the offices up for grabs — a two-year vacancy on the Board of Selectmen — attracted more than a single candidate.

Candidates for that seat include Lisa Lopez, a former corporate attorney and current vice chair of the town’s Community Preservation Committee; Michael Loughran, current School Committee vice chair and Little League board member; and Jim Quigley, a retired Canton Police detective sergeant and member of the Reservoir Pond Advisory Committee.

In addition to the two-year seat, which was created by the resignation of former Selectman Kevin Feeney in October, the other BOS seat on the ballot will be uncontested, with only veteran incumbent John Connolly returning nomination papers. Connolly, first elected in 1989 to a then three-member board, will be seeking his 11th consecutive term on the BOS.

Other incumbents who will be running unopposed for reelection this year are William Galvin for Board of Assessors, Ruth Slattery for Board of Health, and Margaret Mead and Emily Prigot for library trustee.

As for the newcomers, in addition to Lopez, Loughran and Quigley vying for their first selectman seat, Kristian Merenda and Maureen Moran are both running uncontested for three-year School Committee seats; Kathy McCormack, a candidate for BOS in 2018, is running for a five-year Planning Board seat; and Nancy Connery is running for a three-year library trustee position.

Merenda and Moran are slated to replace Loughran and Meg Gannon, while McCormack will replace Michael Mitcheroney. Connery is running for a seat last held by Michael Sundin, who was appointed in the fall to fill a vacancy. Sundin opted not to seek the nomination after initially taking out papers, although he plans to remain heavily involved through the nonprofit Friends of the Canton Public Library.

Despite the lack of contested races, this year marks the fourth time in the last five years that voters will have a choice of candidates for at least one selectman’s seat. The town’s top executive board has actually seen considerable turnover in recent years with four first-time candidates joining the BOS since 2015. The board is currently operating with only four members since the departure of Feeney but will return to full strength after the April 2 election.

Additional information about each of the selectmen candidates and their views on key town issues will be featured in upcoming editions of the Canton Citizen.

BOS announces committee vacancies

The Board of Selectmen would like to notify the town of the following town board and committee vacancies: Canton Youth Commission (16), Canton Cultural Council (14), Industrial Development Finance Authority (5), Economic Development Commission (4), Veterans Council (4), Sustainability Committee (4), Fair Housing Committee (3), Cable Advisory Committee (3), Recreation Open Space Community Rep. (2), Historical Commission alternate members (2), Zoning Board of Appeals, Permit Advisory Committee, and Traffic Committee alternate member. Interested candidates should send letters of interest and resume to the Canton Board of Selectmen, 801 Washington St., Canton, MA 02021 or via email to bos@town.canton.ma.us.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Feb 15 2019. Filed under News, Town Election, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.