By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Nomination papers for the April Town Election will be available in the Town Clerk’s Office on Thursday, Jan. 2, beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Due to the $63.5 million public safety buildings and Town Hall project, the Town Clerk’s Office has been relocated to the Senior Center/Lynnfield Public Schools Central Office, 525 Salem St. The Town Election will take place on Tuesday, April 8.
The municipal election will feature nine offices on the ballot this spring, including a three-year term for Select Board. Chair Dick Dalton informed the Villager on Monday that he will be running for a fourth three-year term on the Select Board.
Two seats on the School Committee will be appearing on the ballot. School Committee Chair Kristen Grieco Elworthy and School Committee Vice Chair Jenny Sheehan are both eligible to run for three-year terms this spring. Elworthy and Sheehan were elected to one-year terms on the school board during the April 2023 Town Election.
Planning Board member Ed Champy will be able to run for a second five-year term.
Library Trustees Faith Honer-Coakley and Richard Mazzola will each have the option to run for three-year terms.
Board of Assessors member Richard O’Neil Jr. is eligible to run for a three-year term.
Town Moderator Steve Walsh has the option to run for a second one-year term. He was elected town moderator during the April 2023 Town Election.
Housing Authority Board of Commissioners member John Nunziato will be able to run for a second five-year term in the April Town Election.
Town Clerk Amanda Haggstrom stated in the candidates’ guide for the Town Election that office hopefuls will need to receive a minimum of 50 signatures from registered voters in order to have their name appear on the ballot.
“Be sure to submit more than the required number, 50, for certification so you do not fall short in the event of signatures not certified,” Haggstrom stated. “All signatures and addresses must be legible and written substantially as registered. If the voter’s signature is illegible, you may ask them to print their name next to the signature. The law allows a voter to insert or omit a middle name or initial and still have the signature deemed valid.”
The last day to submit nomination papers is Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 5 p.m. The last day for candidates to have their name removed from the municipal ballot is Thursday, March 6 at 5 p.m.
Haggstrom also noted in the candidates’ guide that office hopefuls must follow the state’s campaign finance law.
“State law requires an accounting of all money received or spent in the course of a political campaign,” Haggstrom wrote. “Candidates are required to submit regular campaign finance reports and to comply with the campaign finance laws and procedures. It is the responsibility of all those participating in political campaign financing in Massachusetts to become knowledgeable with the provisions of the campaign finance law and its regulations. Violations of the law carry serious penalties of fines, imprisonment or both.”
For more information about the April Town Election, residents can visit https://www.town.lynnfield.ma.us/town-clerk/pages/running-office-lynnfield.
“Our office is here to assist you as you navigate the local election process,” Haggstrom wrote on the town clerk’s website.
