Islanders are set to vote in two historic town meetings and one town election in their own version of super Tuesday today, as West Tisbury and Aquinnah look to certify budgets while Tisbury decides a three-way race for a seat on its select board.
Polls are open Tisbury from noon to 8 p.m. at the Emergency Services facility on Spring street. Two-term incumbent Melinda Loberg is being challenged by former one-term selectman Larry Gomez and political newcomer Melanie Englert.
Masks are required at the polling station.
Shortly after polls open in Tisbury, Aquinnah is set to convene its annual town meeting at 1 p.m. in the parking lot of the town fire station. Normally held in the told town hall, Aquinnah follows other towns in holding the meeting outdoors this year due to the pandemic. Voters will elect a temporary moderator from the floor because longtime moderator Mike Herbert cannot attend.
The quorum is 35 voters.
A long-sought request to transfer $125,000 in stabilization funds for legal expenditures tops the 16-article warrant. The town has been engaged in multiple lengthy court battles — including litigation with the Wampanoag tribe over a proposed casino in town — that have exhausted the town’s legal funds.
Two previous special town meetings to transfer the money have failed to reach a quorum.
The town is also eyeing a number of spending packages, including money for brick work for the Gay Head Light and funds for improvements to the cliffs, lookout area and Aquinnah Circle.
Later in the afternoon, West Tisbury will conclude the day with a historic town meeting of their own. Relocated to the Tabernacle in Oak Bluffs, the annual town meeting begins at 4 p.m., with moderator Dan Waters presiding. A quorum of 30 voters — lowered from the 130-voter requirement — is needed to convene the meeting.
Parking will be available in the park between New York and Greenleaf avenues.
Voters will be asked to approve a $19.8 million budget and a warrant that has been cut in half due to the pandemic. Still included on the pared-down warrant are articles requesting $80,000 to fund improvements at the town dump and numerous affordable housing expenditures.
“Everything is straightforward,” town administrator Jen Rand said last week, describing the warrant. “Anything that could require a lot of conversation or explanation, we took off.”
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