Select boards in at least two Island towns will see a pair of new faces this spring as two incumbents are not seeking reelection.
Chilmark select board member Bill Rossi and Oak Bluffs select board member Jason Balboni both are planning to step down after their terms are over, shaking up the Island political scene as boards face large infrastructure projects and sky high housing costs.
In Oak Bluffs, incumbent and select board chair Emma Green-Beach is running along with Mark Leonard, Kris Chvatal and William Cleary III for two seats. Regardless of the outcome of the race, the board will have at least three new members in two years, with newcomers Thomas Hallahan and Dion Alley joining the board in 2023.
In Chilmark, four people pulled nomination papers for Mr. Rossi’s select board seat. Andrew Goldman, Jeffrey Maida, William Meegan and Miles Brucculeri all took out papers, though, Mr. Goldman and Mr. Brucculeri didn’t return them by the deadline and won’t appear on the ballot.
With a new board member in Chilmark, two of the three members will be fresh faces elected for the first time in the last year. Marie Larsen joined the board last year after Warren Doty, who served as a select board member for eight terms, declined to seek reelection.
In an interview with the Gazette earlier this year, Mr. Rossi said it was time to let others in town take the reins.
“There’s definitely some people in town that could step in and be ready to do that job,” he said.
Mr. Balboni briefly referenced he was not running for reelection at this week’s select board meeting while poring over the proposed town meeting budget. He joined the board in 2018 and did not immediately return a request for comment this week.
In Oak Bluffs, all the candidates have previous government experience. Ms. Green-Beach was elected in 2021, Mr. Leonard, a member of the town’s affordable housing committee, ran for the select board last year, and Mr. Cleary serves on the town’s energy committee and was previously on the planning board. Mr. Chvatal, a teacher at the regional high school, has served on the zoning board of appeals and the planning board and previously ran for the select board.
In Chilmark, Mr. Maida serves on the harbor advisory committee. Mr. Meegan, a retired Island builder, served on the town's planning board.
Select board elections in other Island towns are uncontested.
Edgartown also had its nomination paper deadline this week. Longtime select board member Arthur Smadbeck is running for reelection, the lone candidate in the race. In West Tisbury, Jeffrey (Skipper) Manter is running uncontested for reelection to the town’s select board.
The up-Island town will have a new moderator with Dan Waters deciding to step down this year. Caroline Flanders is the lone candidate.
Tisbury and Aquinnah have later nomination deadlines, with Tisbury’s coming April 23 and Aquinnah’s on March 28.
Thomas Humphrey, Brooke Kushwaha and Addison Antonoff contributed to this article.
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