Published in the April 24, 2018 edition.
WAKEFIELD — On a great morning to cast ballots in the 2018 municipal election, 649 voters had done so by 10 a.m. today as Wakefield residents head to the polls to choose a couple of selectmen, two School Committee members, a moderator, a tax collector, a Planning Board member, an assessor, three Beebe Library trustees, a member of the Board of Health and two commissioners to help oversee the management of the Wakefield Municipal Gas and Light Department.
Also, voters will also answer this question: Do we want the name of the Board of Selectmen to change to Town Council?
This is the last election for the foreseeable future in which Wakefield will use its neighborhood polling places. The centralized voting era begins at the Galvin Middle School with the September state primaries.
There are 18,390 voters registered to participate in today’s town election. At 10 a.m., a total of 649 had cast ballots in Wakefield’s seven precincts. The breakdown by precinct was: Precinct 1, 117 voters; Precinct 2, 57; Precinct 3, 68; Precinct 4, 105; Precinct 5, 110; Precinct 6, 72; Precinct 7, 120.
Incumbent Selectmen Paul DiNocco and Brian Falvey are running for reelection, challenged by Deborah M. Butler and Julie Smith-Galvin.
Incumbent Kenneth J. Chase Jr. is one of four seeking two openings on the Municipal Gas and Light Commission. The others are Robert J. Brooks Jr., Jennifer Kallay and Wayne M. Tarr.
Five people are running for two three-year terms on the School Committee. They are Colleen E. Guida, James A. Horne, Aimee J. Purcell, Susan L. Veilleux and Robert Vincent.
Laurel Skinder Gourville seeks reelection to the Board of Health. She is being challenged by Sonia Borda.
Two incumbents — Kevin Patrick Scanlon and Cindy A. Schatz — are running for reelection to the Board of Library Trustees. They are joined by Aimee Lominac, who will join them on that board.
Others running unopposed are Christopher J. Fowlie for the five-year term on the Planning Board, Assessor Jane A. D’Addario, Tax Collector Kathleen M. Kelly and Town Moderator William Harbison Carroll.
The polling locations are: Masonic Building, 372 Salem St. (for those in Precincts 1 and 7); Crystal Community Club, 71 Preston St. (Precinct 2 and 3); Most Blessed Sacrament Church Hall, 1155 Main St., Precinct 4); West Side Social Club, 4 Harrington Ct. (Precincts 5 and 6).
The polls are open today until
8 p.m.
