Voters in Charlestown, Hopkinton and Richmond will have plenty of choices in the coming election with a crowded field of candidates filing declarations to run for office on top town boards or for the Chariho School Committee.
The crowded field included a growing number of independent candidates and a rush of Republicans with interest in joining the Chariho School Committee, and officials said the number of candidates for the towns’ top boards is easily among the highest it has been in decades.
In Richmond, where there have been no more than seven candidates running for Town Council during each of the past two elections, there is a possible record-setting 13 residents who filed declarations of intent by the 4 p.m. deadline Wednesday. Richmond Town Clerk Erin Liese, who has worked in clerk’s offices for over 16 years, said Thursday that it is the largest number of candidates she can recall filing in a single year.
“In my career, this is easily the largest number of local candidates that have filed for office,” she said. “When you look at the surrounding towns, the number of School Committee candidates may be a record as well.”
With a total of eight seats up for election on the Chariho School Committee — there are three open seats in both Charlestown and Hopkinton, as well as two open seats in Richmond — the school district’s three towns combined to provide 18 candidates to fill those seats.
School Committee
A series of controversial issues, including whether Critical Race Theory was being taught in the district and the resignation of former member David Stall, has placed the school committee under a spotlight in the past few years and helped contribute to growth in interest during the 2022 elections.
The result could be many new faces, or with a field that includes six incumbents for the eight seats, there is a chance that many candidates could still mean little change in the composition of the Chariho School Committee.
There will be four candidates to fill three open seats in Hopkinton, with Democrat endawnis Spears seeking to return to the committee in a role she has held since she was appointed by the Town Council to replace Stall earlier this year. Spears will face competition from a slate that includes Republicans Polly A. Hopkins and Tyler M. Champlin, who each applied to fill the seat Spears was appointed to, and Republican Larry C. Phelps.
Charlestown and Richmond residents will each find ballots rich with independent school committee candidates, but those seeking seats will also face the added challenge of outpolling incumbents for the right to serve.
In Richmond, independents Dr. Ryan P. Callahan and William G. Day will each seek to extend their tenure on the committee, but will face a mix of challengers that will include independent Jeffrey Winters Noble, Democrat Jessica Marie Purcell and Republicans Robert L. Cardozo, Kathryn E. Colasante and Patricia A. Pouliot.
Charlestown residents, meanwhile, will have to choose between three incumbent independents Donna Chambers, Craig F. Louzon, and Linda D. Lyall each will seek reelection over independent challenger Andrew J. McQuaide and Republican challengers Kim M. Coulter, Phyllis C. Penhallow and James E. Sullivan.
Town Council races
All three towns will have competitive races for town council, and for the first time in years more candidates in both Richmond and Charlestown will be left on the outside looking in by November.
Richmond provides the most varied field in the coming election cycle, with 13 candidates filing ahead of the Wednesday deadline including four of five incumbents who will be seeking reelection. Noticeably absent from the list of those who have declared is Council President Nell Carpenter, who officials said had not filed by the state deadline.
Incumbents including Democrats Lauren E. Cacciola Parmer and Ronald D. Newman, Republican Richard G. Nassaney and independent James H. Palmisciano, who is a member of the Serve America Movement, will all seek reelection this fall. Also filing to run for town council were Republicans Michael A. Colasante, Raymond F. Pouliot, Helen F. Sheehan, Mark H. Trimmer and Jeffrey M. Vaillancourt; Democrat Samantha R. Wilcox; and independents Daniel E. Madnick, Mark Taylor Reynolds and Nicholas A. Solitro.
Charlestown Town Council President Deborah Ann Carney is the only Democrat of 11 candidates to declare for office, and is one of three incumbents alongside independent Susan J. Cooper and Republican Grace F. Klinger who will seek a return to the council in the upcoming term. They will be joined on the campaign trail by independent challengers Peter N. Gardner, James Mageau Sr., Ann E. Owen, Lorna M. Persson, Joshua D. Vallee and David M. Wilkinson, as well as Republicans Richard “Rippy” Serra and Stephen J. Stokes.
The Hopkinton Town Council faces the least likelihood of change in the coming two-year term, but could still see new face with Republican newcomers Edwin W. James, Robert Thomas Green and Robert W, Burns each challenging for a role on the council. They will square off against incumbents Michael J. Geary and Scott Bill Hirst, both Republicans, independents Robert J. Marvel and Council President Stephen Moffitt Jr., and Democrat Sharon A. Davis.
Other seats
In Hopkinton, several other candidates had also filed declarations to run for office. Independent Marita D. Murray will seek the position of town clerk, independent Thomas E. Buck will run for town sergeant, Maria Cristina Lavigne is running for director of public welfare and Stall will seek to return to reelected office as town moderator.
In Charlestown, there were five candidates to declare for the town’s nonpartisan planning commission including Gabrielle E. Godino, Walter B. Mahoney III, Carol Ann Mossa, Lisa Marie St. Godard and Patricia A. Stamps. Independent Charles W. Beck has also filed to serve as town moderator.
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July 01, 2022 at 07:55AM
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Crowded field files for candidacy on top boards in Chariho communities - The Westerly Sun
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