Amherst Town Hall in a storm
You would think in a town where activism is a badge of honor more people would show interest in the highest elected political office. Well ... one-fifth of the highest office, as it takes five Select Board members to fill the executive branch better represented by one Mayor.
Maybe Doug Slaughter's surname scared off the competition. But he's the only candidate running for the lone available seat currently occupied by Aaron Hayden, who took out nomination papers but then changed his mind and pulled a Lyndon B. Johnson.
The only other potential candidate who took out papers, which require the signatures of 50 registered voters, was Richard Strahan who gave a UMass dorm room address.
Vira Douangmany at Town Clerk's office, after handing in her nomination papers
The School Committee will see a contest as last year's candidate Vira Douangmany will square off against incumbent Lawrence O'Brien and ambitious newcomer Phoebe Hazzard, who took out her nomination papers at 3:30 PM and returned them at 4:45 PM, only 15 minutes before deadline. There are two open seats.
TracyLee Boutilier happy about returning her papers
The Housing Authority will also see a contest as two candidates have filed for the one open seat, which is a five year term. TracyLee Boutilier, who lost last year to well-known Peter Jessop, and newcomer Emilie Hamilton.
Jones Library Trustees race will be as quiet as a library with only two candidates running for two seats, both incubments who currently occupy those seats: Austin Sarat and Tamson Ely.
Town Meeting, the cumbersome 240 member legislative branch, will have contests in just half of the precincts for the eight 3-year terms available in each of the ten precincts.
And I was hoping for a good discussion of the issues facing Amherst............
ReplyDeleteGod help us is Vira gets on the Board. She was a train wreck last time, let's hope that happens again. With the momentum of her self-promotional tour propelling her, who knows...
ReplyDeleteHer supporters were terrible also. They repeatedly put campaign signs in illegal places.
DeleteThe Amherst School Committee (and Regional School Committee) have been dysfunctional for quite a while now.
ReplyDeleteCan't blame Vira for that.
Oh, I think many folks do that.
ReplyDeleteThe DPW has quite a collection of lawn signs that were placed on town property.
I can blame her for making it worse though, can't I?
ReplyDeleteSure this is America. Land of the blame game.
ReplyDeleteRespectfully,
ReplyDeleteSaying that Aaron Hayden "pulled a Lyndon Baines Johnson" is not fair to Mr. Hayden.
A Select Board member who had some justifiable pride about what had been achieved in town government in the past 6-7 years might reasonably take out nomination papers early on simply as insurance against the real possibility that no one suitable to replace him would then emerge. Mr. Hayden would have been reelected fairly easily if that had happened.
When LBJ dropped out very publicly on March 31, 1968, he had run in the New Hampshire Primary and won way too narrowly for comfort against Eugene McCarthy. RFK had then announced he was getting in, and advance polling for further primaries, including Wisconsin, indicated that Johnson was going to have a rough time. He was a beaten man politically at that point.
Rich Morse
Looks like the school committee race is no longer a contest.
ReplyDeleteI saw in the Gazette that Lawrence O'Brien dropped out of the School Committee race.
ReplyDeleteThis may be the lowest turnout town election ever.
This is a sad day for Amherst. Vira is a wing nut who could do great damage on the SC. I will definitely show up to vote to NOT vote for her and choose a write - in candidate instead.
ReplyDeleteVira is a wing nut who could do great damage on the SC
ReplyDeleteThe only way to win a game of chess against a computer is to make so many random moves that the computer can't figure out what you are doing.
It's going to take crazy wing-nuts and loose cannons to unmask Maria G -- when she tries to charm, BS and obfuscate her way out of their stuff, the rest will see Maria G for what she really is.
So your saying it takes a wingnut to oust a wingnut. God help our kids.
ReplyDelete