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10/29/2019 12:00 AMOn Tuesday, Nov. 5, voters in Clinton will trek down to Town Hall to make their choices on who will serve on the town’s various boards and commissions for the next several years.
Polls are open at Town Hall, 54 East Main Street, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots can be obtained by contacting the town clerk at 860-669-9101. Voters can register to vote at Town Hall up until noon the day before election day, as well as at the Town Hall on election day.
Profiles of all candidates who’ve chosen to participate are in our Online Voters Guide, along with all the Harbor News’ elections coverage and political letters, can be found at www.zip06.com/election. (Candidates who have not yet participated in the guide should send an email with subject line “voter guide” to l.robida@shorepublishing.com ASAP.)
Those with questions about their voter registration status may contact the Registrars of Voters at 860-669-6436.
The top race on the ballot is that of the four Town Council candidates for a four-year term. The race features Democrats Christine Goupil, Dara Onofrio, Jack Scherban, and Tim Guerra; Republicans Mark Richards, Dennis Donovan, Carol Walter, and Chris Aniskovich; Green Party candidate Eric Bergman; and petitioning candidates Leah Saunders and Jane Scully-Welch.
Voters will also vote on the three Town Council candidates who will serve an initial two-year term. The candidates for the two-year seat are Democrats Dara Onofrio, Christine Goupil, and Tim Guerra; Republicans Chris Aniskovich, Dennis Donovan, and Mark Richards, and Green Party candidate Eric Bergman. Some candidates are endorsed for the two-year as well as the four-year term.
Voters may vote for the candidates who appear under both terms in either or both the two- and four-year term categories. If someone votes for a candidate under both terms, the votes count for two separate seats, not one combined seat. For example, if 1,000 people vote for a candidate for a four-year term and 900 people vote for the same candidate for a two-year term, the candidate will have received 1,000 votes in the four-year race and 900 votes in the two-year race. They will not receive credit for a total of 1,900 votes.
If any of those seven candidates win both a four-year term and a two-year term, they will be required to choose on election night which term length they are going to serve. There will be a total of seven people seated on the new council.
Once seated, the Town Council will take on many of the actions that currently fall under the jurisdiction of the Board of Selectmen (BOS). These actions include approving appointments to boards and commissions and enacting new ordinances. The Town Council will be the body that reviews the final candidates for the town manager position and has the authority to hire and fire the manager (with a vote of at least five in favor of either move). The town manager that the town will hire will take on many of the duties that the First Selectmen has traditionally handled. The town council will elect a chairman and vice chairman to lead the council at their first meeting, similar to what other boards and commissions do. The chairperson will be the chief elected official and serve as the ceremonial leader in town and help coordinate events that may fall outside a town manager’s duty.
For more information on each candidate, including statements from all 11 endorsed candidates, visit www.zip06.com/election.