Tisbury voters elected a new select board member and gave a final, resounding stamp of approval to the bill to create a Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank in a quiet town election Tuesday that saw low turnout. Just 552 of the town’s 3,710 voters cast ballots.
Chilmark became the fourth town to approve the Island-wide housing bank at the ballot box Wednesday, paving the way for the home rule petition to move on to the state legislature.
Chilmark voters head to the polls today to cast their ballots for the proposed housing bank initiative, along with 15 town positions up for re-election but only one contested race.
Four of the six Island towns will take the first steps next week in deciding the pivotal question of whether to ask the state legislature to allow creation of a Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank.
The proposed housing bank bill replaces the direct democracy of town meeting with a central committee, consisting of seven commissioners, one elected from each town, and a seventh commissioner elected Islandwide.
There’s plenty of talk these days about the proposed Martha’s Vineyard Housing Bank. There’s plenty of talk about the state of the Vineyard, too.
