Chilmark voters elected Carol (Candy) Shweder to the library board of trustees in the only contested race on the ballot for Wednesday’s annual town election.
Thursday’s town elections brought low turnout and few surprises, with voters in West Tisbury, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown easily approving spending requests.
Voters in at least two Island towns will see contested races for town selectmen when they head to the ballot box this April. Races are shaping up in Oak Bluffs and Edgartown, two of four Island towns that finalize their annual town election ballots this week. Others towns have no contested races.
While Massachusetts voters elected Republican Charlie Baker as the state's next governor, the Vineyard largely backed Democrats in the state election Tuesday, including Mr. Baker's challenger, Martha Coakley.
Vineyard voters will weigh in on races at the federal, state and local level, some of which are hotly contested. Islanders have requested absentee ballots in unusually high numbers, town clerks said. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Greater transparency, expanded human services and more state funding are among the goals shared by candidates running for the Dukes County commission. Seven people are running to fill seven seats on the board next Tuesday. Four appear on the ballot, while three are running as write-ins.
Midterm elections have a reputation for being lackluster, but with a dead-heat gubernatorial race and other key issues drawing debate among voters, this year promises to be different.
Vineyard voters will decide on local races in the November election, including seats on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, county commission and up-Island school committee.
Vineyard voters followed most statewide voting trends in Tuesday’s primary, casting ballots for winning gubernatorial candidates Martha Coakley and Charles Baker. Democratic voters on the Island also came out in strong numbers for gubernatorial candidate Donald Berwick.
