This year’s historic town meeting season winds up next week with annual town elections in Tisbury on Tuesday, Aquinnah Wednesday and West Tisbury Thursday. Masks, sanitizing supplies and social distancing rules will be in place at all three polling places.
Tisbury voters cast their ballots June 23, from noon to 8 p.m. at the Emergency Services Facility on Spring street. The sample ballot is online.
A three-way contest for select board pits two-term incumbent Melinda Loberg against former one-term selectman Larry Gomez and political newcomer Melanie Englert.
Ms. Loberg and Mr. Gomez, who have served together in the past on both the select board and the town financial and advisory committee, took part earlier this month in a candidate forum on video. Sponsored and moderated by the League of Women Voters, the 45-minute forum is available to view on demand at mvtv.org.
Asked what personal qualities make her uniquely qualified for the board of selectmen, Ms. Loberg cited her devotion to Tisbury, sense of responsibility for carrying on Island traditions and interest in learning.
“We have a lot of things we have to make decisions about in the town that we may not have expertise in, so we need to bring our curiosity and our ability to learn to the job,” she said.
Mr. Gomez described himself as a person who likes to make decisions quickly and get things done.
“I would like to see more action, more movement,” he said. “I feel like a lot of things we’ve been trying to do for the last 10 years have become stagnant.”
Discussing issues that face the town, Mr. Gomez said he wants to see progress on the Beach Road corridor, at Owen Park and in sewer expansion.
“How do we get out of the past and move into the future?” he asked.
That transition is already underway, Ms. Loberg said, detailing her behind-the-scenes role in planning Beach Road infrastructure improvements that will be performed by the state Department of Transportation starting this fall.
“You have to do the groundwork. You can’t take shortcuts,” Ms. Loberg said. “We have other agencies that will work with us if we develop a relationship with them, which I have done.”
She said the planned extension of sewer service to the State Road commercial district will expand opportunities for business owners there. Tuesday’s ballot asks voters to approve borrowing $6.4 million to extend the sewering and increase capacity at the town wastewater plant, money that will help the town attract state and federal funds for the projects.
In a voice vote at last Saturday’s annual town meeting, the measure passed unanimously, but because it involves borrowing, voters must also approve it at the ballot box.
Aquinnah voters go to the polls June 24 from noon to 4 p.m. at the old town hall. There are no contested seats and no ballot questions.
In West Tisbury, incumbent selectman Kent Healy faces challenger Michael Bellissimo, who represents West Tisbury on the Dukes County regional housing authority and has served on the committee for the town housing bank.
“I’ve been on the board of selectmen for three years now and I’m just starting to get a handle on how the town works,” Mr. Healy said during a League of Women Voters video forum with Mr. Bellissimo, now posted at mvtv.org,
A longtime civil engineer who has practiced in West Tisbury for 40 years, Mr. Healy served on several town committees before running for selectman in 2017. Mr. Bellissimo is a former health care executive whose family moved to the town 20 years ago.
“I consider myself a first-generation immigrant. We all were at some point,” said Mr. Bellissimo, who promised to run for office no more than twice.
“I think we need to groom a new generation of folks to be in town government,” he said.
During the half-hour forum, the two candidates generally agreed on issues including the need for more housing in West Tisbury and the importance of reducing fossil fuel use.
“For every dollar that we spend, a good portion of that goes to burning diesel oil,” Mr. Healy said. “We have to recognize that when we propose projects.”
Voting in West Tisbury is June 25 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the town’s public safety building.
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