Select Board, SC races headline April 6 town election
By Jay TurnerA four-way contest for two Select Board seats and a School Committee race between two newcomers are the headliners in the upcoming town election set for Tuesday, April 6.
Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at each of the four voting locations, and mail-in ballots will be accepted through the close of polls on Election Day. Yesterday, March 31, marked the deadline to formally request a vote-by-mail ballot.
In the race for Select Board, the top two vote-getters will secure a seat from a field that includes incumbent Michael Loughran, former Select Board member Tom Theodore, and first-time challengers Hamilton Rodrigues and Reuki Schutt.
Schutt, an attorney by profession, has the most political experience of the group, having recently stepped down after 16 years of service as an elected School Committee member. She also currently serves on the town Finance Committee and is a past president of several local civic organizations.
Loughran, who also has past experience on the FinCom and School Committee, currently serves as the Select Board’s vice chair and will be vying for his first full (three-year) term after winning a two-year vacancy in 2019. A lifelong resident, Loughran is also active in Canton Little League, having served stints as treasurer and vice president of softball.
Theodore, another lifelong resident, will be seeking a second, non-consecutive term on the Select Board after winning in 2017 and losing in a recount in 2020. A current member of the FinCom, Theodore has been active on several town committees and civic groups and is the chairman of the Canton Town Club.
Rodrigues, who is running for his first elective office in Canton, has past experience on the Canton Center Design Review Board and has served on the town’s Economic Development Committee since 2014. He has nearly 20 years of experience as a real estate broker and is the principal owner of Triple 7 Real Estate on Washington Street.
Also up for grabs this year will be a spot on the Canton School Committee, with two newcomers, Karrie Hylen and Kendall O’Halloran, vying for the expiring seat that’s being vacated by current Chair Kristin Mirliani.
O’Halloran — who ran last year as a write-in candidate — currently serves as president of the Kennedy School CAPT and as a member of the Galvin CAPT. Hylen also has extensive school CAPT experience and has been active in a number of behind-the-scenes roles as a fundraiser and organizer. Both also have experience as youth sports coaches.
A Q&A with the Select Board and School Committee candidates was published in last week’s edition of the Citizen. The Citizen also hosted a Zoom forum with the candidates in partnership with Canton Community Television and the programs are airing on CCTV this week and can be streamed at cantoncommunitytv.org (available here and here).
The other candidates on the 2021 town election ballot are all running unopposed, including incumbents Tracy Kenney for town clerk, Rocco Digirolamo for Board of Assessors, Alan Rapoport for Board of Health, and Joan Schottenfeld and Christine Untersee for library trustee. Additionally, Joe Amrhein, a former Select Board candidate, is running unopposed for Planning Board, and Jan Chamberlain is running unopposed for library trustee.
For more information about election procedures or locating your precinct, visit town.canton.ma.us/259/Town-Clerk.
Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=73681
Posted by Jay Turner
on Apr 2 2021. Filed under Town Election.
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