Wellesley Town Election 2020—POSTPONED DUE TO COVID-19 CONCERNS

Wellesley candidates Q&A round-up—ELECTION POSTPONED

Wellesley election postponed from March 17, 2020 to a date TBD

Meet Wellesley candidate for Board of Selectmen, Beth Sullivan Woods

We’ve seen the signs — Wellesley votes on March 17th

Meet Wellesley candidate for Board of Selectmen, Tom Ulfelder

Wellesley town election absentee ballots available

Meet Wellesley candidate for Board of Selectmen, Ron Alexander

Meet Wellesley candidate for School Committee, Catherine Mirick

More COVID-19 news

Links to Candidates Question & Answer posts:

What about absentee voting dates?

Can I mail in my absentee ballot?

Voting on Tuesday, March 17th — it’s on

Here’s a list of polling places in Wellesley

But which one is my polling place?

Who’s running for office?

What is the referendum question?

Signing on

How to vote on March 17, 2020, no matter what

March 16, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley’s Tuesday, March 17th Town election has been postponed, as announced in the town’s first virtual government meeting held on Monday (see Wellesley Media video embedded below).

In the meeting led by Executive Director of General Government Services Meghan Jop, and attended by the Board of Selectmen, Jop announced that the Registrar of Voters held an emergency meeting and voted 2 – 1 to seek a court order to postpone the election.

The Norfolk County Superior Court granted the order based on the need to protect the community by slowing the advance of corona virus (see court order below).

“Effective immediately, the court order gives the Board of Selectmen, the Town Clerk, and the Town Executive Director of Government Services the authority to reschedule the Town election for a later date sometime before June 30, 2020,” Jop said.

All absentee ballots already cast will be counted on the rescheduled election date.

Any elected official whose term would have expired on March 17, 2020 will remain in that position until the new elections are held and a successor has been elected and sworn in.

The news had candidates and referendum proponents and opponents alerting their supporters by email with talk of “rebooting” and “being back in touch as soon as we receive news about the new election date.” As one email opened, “This isn’t the election eve email we expected to be writing….”

The town has updated its COVID-19-related information, including that 7 COVID-19 cases have been identified among residents (1 confirmed, 6 presumed positive) and that playgrounds are off-limits. The RDF, with some restrictions, remains open for residents.

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March 15, 2020 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

UPDATE: Wellesley’s Town Election has been postponed from Tuesday, March 17, 2020 to a date to be determined, but on or before June 30, 2020.

Many of the candidates running for office to serve on the Town’s 11 Boards and Committees took the time to answer questions from Swellesley. Those Q&A posts have been running for the past couple of weeks. For your convenience, below is a round-up of all the candidates and a link to their Q&A’s if they responded.

This Wellesley Town Election 2020 post is sponsored by the Put Wellesley Students First Committee.

The position for moderator is a contested race; vote for not more than one:
Candidate for moderator, Ronald Alexander
Candidate for moderator, Mark Kaplan

The position for Board of Selectmen is a contested race; vote for not more than two:
Candidate for Board of Selectmen, Ronald Alexander
Candidate for Board of Selectmen, Elizabeth Sullivan Woods
Candidate for Board of Selectmen, Thomas Ulfelder

The position for Board of Assessors is an uncontested race; vote for one:
Candidate for Board of Assessors, Stephen Burtt

The position for Board of Health is an uncontested race; vote for one:
Candidate for Board of Health, Shepard Cohen

The position for Library Trustees is an uncontested race; vote for not more than two:
Candidate for Library Trustees, Ann-Mara Lanza
Candidate for Library Trustees, Ann Rappaport

The position for Natural Resources Commission is an uncontested race; vote for not more than two:
Candidate for Natural Resources Commission, Martin Jay McHale
Candidate for Natural Resources Commission, Allison Burson

The position for Planning Board is an uncontested race; vote for one:
Candidate for Planning Board, Thomas Taylor

The position for Board of Public Works (3-year term) is an uncontested race; vote for one:
Candidate for Board of Public Works, 3 years, Jeffrey Wechsler

The position for Board of Public Works, 1-year term, is a contested race; vote for not more than one:
Candidate for Board of Public Works: Thomas Skelly
Candidate for Board of Public Works: Scott Bender

The position for Recreation Commission is an uncontested race; vote for one:
Candidate for Recreation Commission: Nathalie deFontnouvelle

School Committee is a contested race; vote for not more than two:
Candidate for School Committee: Lauren Duprey
Candidate for School Committee: Melissa Martin
Candidate for School Committee: Catherine Mirick

The position for Housing Authority is an uncontested race; vote for one:
Candidate for Housing Authority: Renee Spencer

March 13, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

UPDATE: Wellesley’s Town Election has been postponed from Tuesday, March 17, 2020 to a date to be determined, but on or before June 30, 2020.

The Town of Wellesley depends on the active participation of its citizens in governance of the Town. Wellesley has 11 Boards and Committees on the ballot at the Annual Town election each year in March.

The 2020 local election for Wellesley will be held on Tuesday, March 17, as scheduled.

This Election 2020 post is sponsored by Lauren Duprey for School Committee. Lauren Duprey says, “I will bring a fresh perspective to the School Committee and focus on engaging openly with people. As a business and HR leader, I have experience managing large budgets and leading change. I look forward to serving our amazing community!”

The Town Clerk’s office is offering Absentee Voting over the counter at Town Hall, 525 Washington St., on the following
days and times:
 Friday, March 13, 8am – 5pm
 Saturday, March 14, 8am – noon
 Monday, March 16, 8am – noon

The Clerk’s office will closed for all business at noon on Monday, March 16 to prepare for the March 17 Election Day.

Voters may mail in their absentee ballots. Absentee ballots are also available via mail. Requests using the Absentee Ballot Request Form may be emailed to [email protected]. As all ballots requested by email must be mailed through the US Postal Service, the clerk’s office encourages these email requests to be sent in by Friday, March 13.

Mail-in absentee ballots may be dropped off at the Payment Drop Box outside of Town Hall or returned directly to the Town Clerk’s Office by Tuesday March 17, 8pm.

Although the Wellesley Public Schools and the Tolles Parsons Center currently are closed to regular daily programming, school buildings and the Tolles Parsons Center WILL BE OPEN from 7am to 8pm on Tuesday March 17 for the election.

Voters will be restricted to the polling areas only.

All polling places will be disinfected prior to opening on March 17, 2020. In addition, high traffic areas and surfaces will be disinfected throughout the day.

Black-ink pens will be available at the polls; voters are welcome to bring their own black-ink pens. Voters are encouraged to bring their own hand sanitizer.

Precinct A, Bates School, 116 Elmwood Rd.
Precinct B, Sprague School, 401 School St.
Precinct C, Upham School, 35 Wynnewood St.
Precinct D, Schofield School, 27 Cedar St.
Precinct E, Fiske School, 45 Hastings St.
Precinct F, Dana Hall School, Shipley Center, 142 Grove St.
Precinct G, Wellesley Free Library, 530 Washington St.
Precinct H, Tolles Parsons Center, 500 Washington St.

We’ve looked a lot of “services” that offer to help you find your polling place. Generally, these supposedly easy tools are run by some big-dawg campaigns looking to mine your email and other personal data. (No Wellesley candidates use such techniques.)

The best and easiest way we know of if you need to find out where to vote in Wellesley is the State of Massachusetts page. You just plug in your address, and your polling place pops up. You don’t get re-directed to some sketchy place on the web, and there’s a lot of helpful info such as who your elected officials are and how to get in touch with them.

Here’s the list of who’s running for Wellesley office. Four of the races are contested: Moderator; Board of Selectmen; Board of Public Works; School Committee.

There is one non-binding referendum question. It reads as follows:

Do you believe the Town of Wellesley should keep our current 7 neighborhood elementary school model by rebuilding and/or renovating the Hardy, Hunnewell and Upham Elementary Schools instead of closing one school and redistricting all our elementary students into 6 schools? Please vote YES or NO.

A YES vote would advise the Town of Wellesley to retain our current neighborhood school model by renovating and/or rebuilding the Hardy, Hunnewell and Upham Elementary Schools.

A NO vote would advise the Town of Wellesley to close either Hardy Elementary School or Upham Elementary School, without voter input on which school to close, and to re-district all our town’s elementary students into six schools.

Please get out the vote on Tuesday, March 17, 2020.

March 12, 2020 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

Beth Sullivan Woods is running as a candidate for the Board of Selectmen, which serves as the chief executive board of the Town, and as such, oversees all matters affecting the interest and welfare of the community. The 5-member Board exercises the authority vested in the Town not specifically assigned by law to any other board or office.

Beth Sullivan Woods, Wellesley candidate — Beth Sullivan Woods, candidate for Board of Selectmen.

There are three candidates running for the two open 3-year positions. We invited the candidates to answer a few questions about their qualifications and priorities for the Town of Wellesley. Candidate Beth Sullivan Woods’ Q & A is below. Q & As from candidates Tom Ulfelder and Ron Alexander have already run.

The Swellesley Report: Should it be Board of Selectmen or Select Board or something different?
Beth Sullivan Woods: We have a long history in Wellesley of having had very smart, thoughtful and committed women who have served the town on the Board of Selectmen; I have to assume that they, like me, did not view the name of the Board as an impediment to serving the Town.

SR: What is your background and what qualifies you for this position?
Beth Sullivan Woods: I have both very deep Wellesley roots and a passion for using my time and talent to help lead the Town as we make decisions that impact our future. I grew up in Wellesley with my seven siblings, and was educated at Perrin, Upham, Wellesley Junior High and Wellesley High, as well as Brown University. My husband and I chose Wellesley as the town to raise our family and have a son currently at Wellesley High. I also have several siblings currently living in Wellesley and have nieces currently attending Schofield and Bates.

I have an appreciation for and an understanding of the Town budget and finances, as well as strong working relationships with our Town departments. In 2009, I was elected to the Wellesley Free Library Board of Library Trustees and served continuously through 2017. At the end of my Library Trustee term in 2017, I made the decision to run for the Board of Selectmen and was elected. As a Selectman, I currently serve as the liaison to the Council on Aging, the Recreation and Playing Fields Taskforce, the Board of Health, the Veterans community, and the business community. I have been a Town Meeting Member since 2009.

Professionally, my background is in marketing research and strategic planning. After leading this functional area at both Hill Holliday and Arnold Communications, I founded my own business in 2001. The critical thinking, listening, problem solving, and visioning skills that I leverage with my clients every day are extremely relevant to supporting the Town as a member of the Board of Selectmen, particularly in light of the challenges that we face.

SR: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your three-year tenure on the Board of Selectmen?

[Read more…]

March 11, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

This Wellesley Town Election 2020 post is sponsored by Mirick for School Committee. Catherine Mirick says, “The School Committee needs experience, balanced leadership to move forward with implementing the new strategic plan and to get schools built. As a leader, I bring people together, listen to all viewpoints, collaborate, build consensus and then move forward to get projects done.”

As the March 17th date for the annual Wellesley Town Election moves closer, we’d like to issue a public service announcement to play nice with the political yard signs. As in no sign stealing and no defacing of signs. If you think Wellesley is far too civilized for such shenanigans, well all I can say is that it’s happened before.

This time around, let’s play nice, voters.

Here are the hometown rules:

Under the Town of Wellesley Sign Bylaw, signs are not defined or regulated by their message (ex. real estate sign, political sign, etc.) but rather by their type (ex. wall sign, ground sign, temporary sign, etc.). In the Town, signs commonly referred to as political or campaign signs fall under the category of standard informational sign. Each property in Town is allowed to display one (1) standard informational sign throughout the year, and an unlimited number of such signs beginning 30 days before and ending 5 days after any federal, state or local election, ballot initiative and/or referendum. These signs are restricted to a maximum size of six (6) square feet per side (ex. 2’ x 3’) and a maximum height of three (3) feet (a maximum height of six (6) feet for “post and arm” style signs). In addition to the above, all signs are prohibited from being located within the right-of-way of a street or on Town-owned property without the permission of the Board of Selectmen.

This means political signs should not be placed on street islands, corners, park land or other public property. Residents who wish to display signs should place them well back from the street line for sight line safety of motorists and pedestrians. On election day signs at polling places must be attended at all times.

Now doesn’t that sound simple?

Win or lose, the Wellesley Recycling & Disposal Facility encourages all candidates and their supporters to recycle all political signs once the Wellesley town election is over.

Remember to vote in Wellesley’s Town Election on Tuesday, March 17.

Here’s how to find out where to vote in Wellesley.

March 10, 2020 by Deborah Brown 2 Comments

Tom Ulfelder is one of three candidates running for the two open 3-year positions on the Board of Selectmen (BOS) The BOS serves as the chief executive board of the Town, and as such, oversees all matters affecting the interest and welfare of the community. The 5-member Board exercises the authority vested in the Town not specifically assigned by law to any other board or office.

Tom Ulfelder, Wellesley Board of Selectmen — Tom Ulfelder, candidate for Board of Selectmen

We invited all the candidates to answer a few questions about their qualifications and priorities for the Town of Wellesley. Candidate Tom Ulfelders’s Q & A is below. Ron Alexander‘s Q & A has already run, and Beth Sullivan Woods‘ Q & A will run in a subsequent post.

The Swellesley Report: Should it be Board of Selectmen or Select Board or something different?
Tom Ulfelder: I support the change to Select Board and voted to put forward Articles 37 and 38 on the Warrant for the 2020 Annual Town Meeting. These Articles propose changing the term “Board of Selectmen” to “Select Board” and offer accompanying changes within the Town General and Zoning Bylaws. An increasing number of communities within Massachusetts have made this change, which is consistent with gender neutral terms for other political positions (e.g., President, Senator, Governor, Representative), and recognizes the longstanding tradition of women serving in elected and appointed positions throughout Town government in Wellesley. Through this simple change, the Board is affirming the importance of gender neutrality, equality, and respect.

The Swellesley Report: What is your background and what qualifies you for this position?
Tom Ulfelder: I am presently completing my first term on the Board of Selectmen. I am the current Vice Chair of the Board and of the School Building Committee, and I served as the Board’s appointee to the Sustainable Energy Committee. I have developed excellent working relationships with individuals throughout our many Town departments, boards and committees. During the past three years, I have had an opportunity to work on numerous issues and projects including developing balanced annual budgets and five year financial and capital plans, the feasibility studies for the Hunnewell and Hardy-Upham school building projects, and sustainable municipal building guidelines. I negotiated the use of beneficial electrification for the Wellesley Office Park residential housing project, which will result in a significant reduction in carbon emissions, and worked on developing and securing approval of Wellesley’s Housing Production Plan and the Unified Plan.

My professional experience as a trial attorney, hospital administrator, senior healthcare consultant solving complex cost and service delivery challenges, and business owner gives me a breadth of experience and skills that are directly applicable to the challenges of serving on the Board of Selectmen. I have an undergraduate degree from Harvard, a Master of Public Health from Yale, and a law degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

I have been a resident of Wellesley for 21 years. In addition to serving on the Board of Selectmen and as a Town Meeting Member, I served on the Wellesley Town Government Study Committee, the St. John-St. Paul Collaborative Parish Council and as a board member of Wellesley Friendly Aid.

The Town Government Study Committee provided me with in depth understanding of Wellesley’s government and finances. I also served as a Trustee of the Vincent Memorial Hospital Corporation, a foundation related to the Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, and as a Commissioner of the Town Planning and Zoning Commission in Glastonbury, CT. Public service is a privilege and has been a consistent focus of my professional and personal life.

SR: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your three-year tenure on the Board of Selectmen?
Tom Ulfelder: I hope to build off of prior accomplishments from my first term and one such goal is the need for continual evaluation and improvement of our approach to budgeting and municipal financial management. Whether it is the quality of education in the Wellesley schools or Town services generally, our residents and commercial base expect a high level of service. At the same time, the Board of Selectmen bears the responsibility to balance service with the resulting tax impact of the operating budget and long-term capital plan.

The Board has invested considerable time and resources in the Housing Production Plan and recognizes that we must find opportunities to develop housing for our older population, for residents seeking to downsize, and for our middle-income work force, as well as increasing our housing diversity.

Sustainability and a commitment to the environment has been one of the most significant issues within Wellesley as it is throughout the world. There has been a rapidly expanding awareness that successfully addressing these issues makes economic sense and makes us better citizens within the larger community beyond Wellesley. Reductions in carbon emissions and the use of fossil fuels through beneficial electrification are two important measures of our success. To this end, transportation remains the most challenging and stubborn factor. The Board of Selectmen must continue to support and participate in ongoing efforts to address this single greatest contributor to carbon emissions.

[Read more…]

March 9, 2020 by admin 2 Comments

Vote sign This Wellesley Town Election 2020 post is sponsored by Mirick for School Committee. Mirick says, “The School Committee needs experience, balanced leadership to move forward with implementing the new strategic plan and to get schools built. As a leader, I bring people together, listen to all viewpoints, collaborate, build consensus and then move forward to get projects done.”

Absentee Ballots for the March 17 Wellesley town election are available at Town Hall. If you are ill or will not be in Wellesley on March 17, you are qualified to vote absentee.

If you have already requested an absentee ballot and have not received it within 4 days of the request, please contact Town Hall.

Please note that Wellesley mail takes two or more days due to US Mail processing in Boston.

To receive an absentee ballot in the mail, please complete the Absentee Ballot Request Form and email it to [email protected] or mail it to Town Hall at 525 Washington Street, Wellesley, MA 02482.

Completed absentee ballots must be received by the Town Clerk’s office no later than 8:00 pm on March 17th. Completed ballots may be dropped in the Wellesley Town Hall Payment Drop Box which is on the left-hand side when using the Washington Street entrance (near the duck pond). The drop box is across from the bell.

Completed ballots may also be mailed to Town Hall. Please take into account mail time.

More: Vote 2020

March 9, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Ron Alexander, Wellesley — Ron Alexander is running for a position on the Board of Selectmen.

Ron Alexander is running for a position on the Board of Selectmen. The BOS serves as the chief executive board of the Town, and as such, oversees all matters affecting the interest and welfare of the community. The 5-member Board exercises the authority vested in the Town not specifically assigned by law to any other board or office.

There are three candidates running for the two open 3-year positions. We invited the candidates to answer a few questions about their qualifications and priorities for the Town of Wellesley. Candidate Ron Alexander’s Q & A is below. Candidates Tom Ulfelder and Beth Sullivan Woods‘ Q & As will run in subsequent posts.

The Swellesley Report: Should it be Board of Selectmen or Select Board or something different?
Ron Alexander: Surely we have more important matters to deal with in Wellesley. Let’s leave it the way it is. Otherwise the Town will have to spend taxpayer dollars on new stationery, signage, web site changes, etc., etc., etc. It would also make searches on the Town website, Google, Wellesley Media Corporation, etc. more difficult, because a person looking for information would probably have to do multiple searches, one with the old name and then with the new name. This change would create more problems than it solves (see the Law of Unintended Consequences). It should stay as “Board of Selectmen”.

The Swellesley Report: What is your background and what qualifies you for this position?
Ron Alexander: 20-year resident of Wellesley, two years as Town Meeting Member. and diligent attendee and observer before that, expert in Robert’s Rules and Open Meeting Law, loud booming voice, and a keen nose for nonsense.

SR: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your three-year tenure on the Board of Selectmen?
Ron Alexander: We have serious problems with our Board of Selectmen…As a Board of Selectmen member, I will work to resolve these issues, find justice for the victims, and make sure that the Town does not have to pay the legal expenses of these scofflaws. After that, we will deal with the Superintendent of Schools, as well as other matters of dysfunction in the Wellesley Town Government.

SR: What is the most important issue in Wellesley right now? How should this issue be handled?
Ron Alexander: Corruption, plain and simple. It runs through the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, School Department, Town Counsel, Police, and likely other departments as well. The only way to handle it is to root it out and get rid of the perpetrators.

SR: What are your thoughts about changing the third Monday in October from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day?

[Read more…]

« April 2020 »

March 8, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Catherine Mirick, Candidate for Wellesley School Committee — Catherine Mirick, candidate for Wellesley School Committee

Catherine Mirick is one three candidates running for the two open three-year terms on the School Committee. The five-member School Committee is made up of local residents. Like other town boards, members of the School Committee receive no payment for their volunteer services. The Committee’s responsibilities are to develop and manage school policies; support the allocation of resources by overseeing budget and facilities; hire and review the superintendent of schools; and advocate for the school district.

We invited the candidates to answer a few questions about their qualifications and their priorities for the Town of Wellesley. Below are candidate Catherine Mirick’s answers. The other two candidates’ Q & As appeared in previous posts.

The Swellesley Report: What is your background and what qualifies you for this position?
Catherine Mirick: A resident of Wellesley since 2000, my years of leadership and service in Wellesley PTOs, town government, and community organizations have prepared me well for a position on the Wellesley School Committee. My two kids are the beneficiaries of our wonderful school system and I am excited for the opportunity to give back by putting my time, talents, and experience to work for the Wellesley Public Schools. Since my oldest child started at Sprague in 2006, I have worked with the PTOs at each school, including being asked to lead as Co-President at Sprague in 2011, WMS in 2014, and WHS in 2018. I know how to work with Wellesley kids, families, teachers and administration, and I’ve learned how to balance needs and resources.

I have been a Town Meeting member since I was first elected in 2009, a role that has given me exposure to our town government and sparked my desire to do more. From my time on Town Meeting, I have learned how the complicated structure of Wellesley’s boards and committees works and what it takes to get major projects completed.

The School Committee needs experienced, balanced leadership to move forward with implementing the new strategic plan and to get schools built. As a leader I bring people together, listen to all viewpoints, collaborate, build consensus and then move forward to get projects done. I believe that sort of leadership is what we need on the School Committee now.

SW: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish on the School Committee?
Catherine Mirick: The three priorities I would have as a member of School Committee would be to focus on excellence in education, to ensure fiscal responsibility, and to build elementary schools.

Wellesley has a great public school system. It attracts people to our town, sets our kids on successful paths into adulthood, and keeps our property values high. We need to continue to move forward towards implementing a curriculum that supports the tenets of our Profile of a Graduate, emphasizes social and emotional learning, and creates 21st century learners.

Approximately 80% of the WPS budget comes from Wellesley tax dollars. We need to use these funds wisely. The school committee must work diligently with the administration to find ways to use funds efficiently, economizing where we can without compromising our educational goals.

The town of Wellesley has been studying what to do about our decaying elementary schools since 2012, when my now college-age daughter was in 3rd grade. We need to move ahead and get schools built so that our amazing teachers can educate our young students in safe, educationally appropriate, and energy efficient spaces as soon as possible. I look forward to working with the community as an active listener and consensus builder to get new schools built to replace Hardy, Hunnewell & Upham (HHU).

SW: What is your hot-button issue?
Catherine Mirick: The obvious answer to this question is rebuilding Hardy, Hunnewell & Upham, but I think it is critical to remember the broad responsibilities of School Committee. This year’s enrollment report shows that WPS has 4,738 students. Approximately 700 of them are currently enrolled at Hardy, Hunnewell, or Upham. That leaves more than 4,000 kids that are not in HHU schools.

As a district, we need to focus on our core values and continue to work with our students to strive for academic excellence, deepen a commitment to community, respect human differences, and build cooperative & caring relationships every day, in every school, with every student.

SR: How can voters best reach you?
Catherine Mirick: Please visit my website at mirickforschoolcommittee.com or email me at [email protected]gmail.com