Voters Head To Polls Tuesday For State And Local Election
Jason Graziadei •
Island voters will head to the polls at Nantucket High School on Tuesday for the state and local elections that feature races for the Nantucket Select Board, County Sheriff, and the Massachusetts Governor's office, among others.
Four statewide ballot questions will also be decided, including the so-called "Millionaires Tax" and a measure that will either affirm or repeal the recently passed legislation that opens access to driver's licenses to Massachusetts residents regardless of their legal status.
The polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Nantucket High School, 10 Surfside Road.
In the most highly-contested local race, five candidates are squaring off to fill the seat of outgoing Select Board member Melissa Murphy for the final six months of her term. The candidates include: Planning Board member and Indian Summer Surf Shop owner David Iverson; physician and Board of Health member Malcolm MacNab; retired investment advisor and local political newcomer Stephen Payer; retired Nantucket Finance Department staff member Kathy Richen; and airways system specialist and former Finance Committee member Clifford Williams, who is running for the 11th time.
The winner of the Nov. 8 election will serve the remainder of Murphy's term - through May 2023 - before the annual Town Election when two full three-year term will be up for grabs. The candidates convened earlier this month for the Civic League's "Meet the Candidates" forum participated in the forum and answered a series of questions from the press and the public.Watch the full program below:
The other state and local contests include the Massachusetts Gubernatorial contest between Maura Healey and Geoff Diehl. Healey would become the first openly gay candidate and first woman elected as Massachusetts Governor if she prevails on Tuesday. Diehl, a former state representative from Whitman, Mass. who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, visited Nantucket for a campaign stop back in June.
For the first time in two decades, the Cape & Islands District Attorney's office is up for grabs following longtime DA Michael O'Keefe's decision earlier this year to not to seek reelection. Two former members of the Cape and Islands District Attorney's office - Democrat Robert Galibois and Republican Dan Higgins - are on the ballot on Tuesday. We spoke to both candidates back in April about their campaigns and platforms. Higgins has not only been endorsed by O'Keefe, a fellow Republican, but also by Nantucket County Sheriff Jim Perelman, who is running as a Democrat. Galibois has his own list of endorsements, which includes Nantucket's state representatives - Julian Cyr and Dylan Fernandes.
Nantucket County Sheriff Jim Perelman is seeking his third term in office, and he will once again face David Aguiar, a former Nantucket Police Department officer. Perelman, a Democrat, defeated Aguiar by a wide margin in the 2016 Nantucket County Sheriff race. Aguiar is running as an independent.
In addition to the are also four statewide ballot questions.
- Question 1 - Additional tax on income over one million dollars
- Question 2 - Regulation of dental insurance
- Question 3 - Expand availability of licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages
- Question 4 - Eligibility for driver's licenses