By Alice Waugh
Signatures have been gathered and papers filed to decide who will be on the ballot for the town election on March 30 (see full list below). And despite an earlier flurry of interest by would-be candidates for Water Commission, the Planning Board will have the only contested race, where three residents — Lynn DeLisi, Richard Rundell, and Robert Domnitz — are running for two open seats.
Both openings on the Planning Board are for three-year terms, so the top two vote-getters will be seated. DeLisi and Rundell are incumbents running for reelection, while Domnitz is a former board member. He ran for reelection in 2015 but lost to challenge and current board member Gary Taylor, who ran unopposed for reelection in 2018.
A whopping seven residents took out papers in preparation for running for three openings on the Water Commission, which has been troubled by budget and personnel issues. However, only incumbent Ruth Ann Hendrickson, Michelle Barnes and James Hutchinson submitted papers and signatures to get on the ballot before the February 10 deadline. The others who initially took out papers were Ephraim Flint, Steven Kanner, Allen Vander Meulen, and Tobin Hack.
Those running for the Water Commission have to declare their candidacy for a specific term. Hendrickson (who has said this will be her last term) is running unopposed for reelection for a two-yer term. Barnes joined the board in the fall as one of two emergency appointments after two of the three commissioners resigned, and she is now running for a full three-year term. Hutchinson is currently serving a seven-year term on the Finance Committee that expires in March 2021 and is resigning to run unopposed for a one-year term on the Water Commission.
No one is running for openings on the Housing Commission and Trustees of the Bemis Fund, although two residents (Deb Wallace and Victoria Benaflew) took our nomination papers but never submitted them. Anyone can write in a candidate for those seats or any other. However, if no one is elected, the group in question and the Board of Selectmen may jointly make an appointment to fill the opening at a later date.
There are two candidates for two openings on the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee, and Lincoln resident Harold Engstrom is running for the seat being vacated by Patty Mostue, who is retiring after many years of service with that group. Candace Miller of Sudbury is running for reelection.
* Asterisks indicate incumbents
| Board or Committee | Openings/terms | Candidate(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Assessors | One for three years | Ellen Meadors* |
| Board of Health | One for three years | Frederick L. Mansfield* |
| Board of Selectmen | One for three years | Jonathan Dwyer* |
| Cemetery Commission | One for three years | Manley Boyce* |
| Commissioners of Trust Funds | One for three years | D. Paul Fitzgerald* |
| Housing Commission | One for three years | — |
| Moderator | One for three years | Sarah Cannon Holden* |
| Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee | Two for three years | Candace Miller,* Harold Engstrom |
| Parks and Recreation Committee | One for three years | Robert Stringer |
| Planning Board | Two for three years | Richard Rundell,* Lynn DeLisi,* Robert Domnitz |
| School Committee | Two for three years | Tara Lynn Mitchell,* Adam Hogue* |
| Trustees of Bemis | One for three years | — |
| Water Commission | One for three years, one for two years, one for one year | Ruth Ann Hendrickson,* Michelle Barnes, James Hutchinson |
Hendrickson is actually running for a two-year seat on the water commission.