Here’s what the ballots will look like for the state primary election on September 9. Click on the ballots to see larger versions.
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elections
Braun beats Cannistraro in surprisingly close Selectman’s race
In unofficial results from the March 31 town election, incumbent Selectman Peter Braun defeated challenger Vincent Cannistraro by a vote of 487-382, or 56 to 46 percent. Braun’s margin of victory was about the same in both precincts. Precinct 1, which includes the southern and western portion of Lincoln, went to Braun by 56 to 44 percent, while Precinct 2 (the northeastern part of town) voted for Braun 55 to 45 percent.
| Candidate | Precinct 1 | Precinct 2 | Total votes |
| Peter Braun | 320 | 167 | 487 |
| Vincent Cannistraro | 242 | 130 | 372 |
| Blanks | 7 | 9 | 16 |
In the only other contested race, Patricia Mostue of Lincoln and Elena Kleifges of Sudbury retained their seats on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School District Committee by winning the highest totals tallied from the unofficial results from Lincoln and Sudbury:
| Candidate | Lincoln votes | Sudbury votes | Total votes |
| Patricia Mostue | 796 | 1,415 | 2,211 |
| Elena Kleifges | 236 | 1,842 | 2,087 |
| Sofya L. Gruman-Reznik | 62 | 1,121 | 1,183 |
| Blanks/write-ins | 656 | 1,918 | 2,574 |
The two ballot questions in Lincoln were overwhelmingly approved. By a vote of 729 to 83, residents approved granting one-day alcohol licenses to nonprofits for special events, subject to Board of Selectmen approval in each case. By a vote of 731 to 86, voters OK’d a beer and wine license for the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Although alcohol has been served at the deCordova in the past, the museum had been required to hire licensed outside vendors to do so.
Candidates comment
Vincent Cannistraro
Cannistraro said he was “absolutely thrilled” at the closeness of the vote. “I think a lot of people were really surprised. I don’t think anybody thought I would get more than 30 percent of the vote” with no endorsements from town officials. “I think it spoke a lot about how the town is trying to cope with this concept of change over time.”
“I’m pleased that voters reelected me and that I’ll have the opportunity to continue to serve the town for another three years in a volunteer capacity and give back to my community,” Braun said.
“I valued the many conversations I had with people across all segments of our community,” Braun continued. “I learned a lot, and I’m eager to continue to learn from as many people as I possibly can, including having the opportunity to speak to people who did not vote for me so I can continue to have as comprehensive understanding of residents’ issues as I can.”
Peter Braun
Asked if he was surprised at his relatively narrow margin of victory, Braun said he was. “It appears to have been the case that there was an organized effort by more than just the candidate to convince people to vote for my opponent,” he said.
Shortly before the election, Cannistraro wrote and dictated a “robocall” that was phoned to what he said was somewhere between 500 and 1,000 homes in Lincoln. In his call, which he supplied to the Lincoln Squirrel on Wednesday (read transcript here), he asked residents to vote in the election and outlined his experience in the construction industry. “I wanted people to always see or hear me directly and not take it from my friend or my acquaintance,” he said.
Using call-em-all.com, customers can record their message and have it robocalled to a list of phone numbers they upload for a about nine cents per number. Cannistraro said he aimed his robocall at phone numbers for residents who he guessed had lived in Lincoln for 10 to 20 years and/or were 45 to 60 years old. He did not include every Lincoln number to keep the cost down, adding that he spent $70 or $80 of his own money. The tactic is comparable to the one by an unknown person who put pro-Braun flyers under the doors of residents at The Commons, he added.
To anyone who might have thought robocalling was not “proper politics,” Cannistraro said, “That really depends on your perspective. I don’t think it’s appropriate for people you appoint to come out and endorse you,” he added, referring to a letter to the editor of the Lincoln Squirrel in which Conservation Commission co-chair Peter Von Mertens (who was appointed by the Board of Selectmen) expressed support for Braun before the election.
“It was a campaign of contrasts, to a certain degree—older vs. younger, insider vs. outsider experienced vs. a new perspective,” Cannistraro said. “That’s what interested me about the campaign. It wasn’t a personal thing about Peter… I think he ran a great campaign and it’s obvious that he loves Lincoln, and I respect him for that completely.” Cannistraro thanked various people including Braun in a letter posted on Lincoln Blogs the Future, a blog by resident Neil Feinberg, who was until recently a columnist for the Lincoln Journal.
“I really was a political nobody, and I think the result made a statement,” said Cannistraro, who has never held public office in Lincoln but said he would be interested in serving on a town board or commission in the future. “I’d feel compelled to serve for the people who supported me if I have the time to do a good job. It’s definitely a possibility,” he said.Asked which area of town government would interest him, he said, “I think my strengths are probably in the finance/CapComm [Capital Planning Committee] area… I’m really tuned into the fact that the town has a lot of potentially big-ticket items out there that they’re grappling with.” He added that he might also be interested in serving on the new School Building Advisory Committee that will be formed to work with consultants on identifying specific school repair/renovation project items and costs, “but maybe they want a fresh face of their own,” said Cannistraro, who served on the first SBAC.
Candidate forum draws questions on school, Route 2
By Alice Waugh
Candidates for local office shared their views at a March 15 forum, starting things off with answers to a resident’s question about what selectman candidates and the town learned from the failure of the school building project vote and the Route 2 tree-cutting issue.
[Read more…] about Candidate forum draws questions on school, Route 2
Candidates issue statements for Lincoln voters
Below are some statements issued over the past few weeks by candidates for town office at the election on March 31. If you are on the ballot and would like to submit a statement to the Lincoln Squirrel, please email lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Coming soon: articles on the two candidates for Board of Selectman.
[Read more…] about Candidates issue statements for Lincoln voters
Candidates throwing hats in the ring for local election
Editor’s note: This article was updated on February 25.
By Alice Waugh
Eighteen Lincoln residents have officially expressed interest in running for town office in the March 31 election, but there are still three panels that have seats up for election but no candidates.
[Read more…] about Candidates throwing hats in the ring for local election
Ballot for Monday’s town election
Here’s a copy of the ballot residents will see at the polls on Monday, March 25.
Although there are no names on the ballot for the open position on the Housing Commission, but Gila Naderi of Cerulean Way is seeking election as a write-in candidate. Click here to see letters asking for support by Naderi as well as Town Clerk candidate Susan Brooks and Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee candidate Radha Gargeya.
Polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
How did Lincolnites vote?
Based on the unofficial Lincoln tally for the November 6 election, here’s a breakdown of voting percentages for Lincoln and, where applicable, the comparable state and U.S. results. Some of these totals don’t add up to 100 percent because of blank ballots and/or votes cast for candidates other than the Democrat or Republican. There were 3,670 ballots recorded; only six were left blank in the spot asking for choice of U.S. president.
In a nutshell, Lincoln had the same outcomes as the rest of Massachusetts on everything except for ballot question 2 (prescribing medication to end life), which Lincolnites approved by an almost two-thirds majority but which state voters narrowly defeated. There’s more information on each 2012 ballot question below the table.
In 2008, there were 3,448 Lincoln ballots tallied for president; Obama beat Biden by a margin of 75 percent to 23 percent, compared to this year’s margin of 71 percent to 29 percent.
| Candidate | % | Candidate | % | ||
| President | Lincoln | Obama (D) | 71% | Romney (R) | 29% |
| Mass. | Obama (D) | 61% | Romney (R) | 38% | |
| U.S. | Obama (D) | 51% | Romney (R) | 48% | |
| U.S. Senate | Lincoln | Warren (D) | 66% | Brown (R) | 34% |
| Mass. | Warren (D) | 54% | Brown (R) | 46% | |
| U.S. Rep. (5th District) | Lincoln | Markey (D) | 76% | Tierney (R) | 24% |
| Mass. | Markey (D) | 76% | Tierney (R) | 24% | |
| Question 1 | Lincoln | Yes | 77% | No | 10% |
| Mass. | Yes | 86% | No | 14% | |
| Question 2 | Lincoln | Yes | 64% | No | 33% |
| Mass. | Yes | 49% | No | 51% | |
| Question 3 | Lincoln | Yes | 62% | No | 30% |
| Mass. | Yes | 63% | No | 37% | |
| Question 4 | Lincoln | Yes | 47% | No | 42% |
| Question 5 | Lincoln | Yes | 72% | No | 16% |
| Question 6 | Lincoln | Yes | 58% | No | 27% |
Question 1 – Availability of motor vehicle repair information
Question 2 – Prescribing medication to end life
Question 3 – Medical use of marijuana
Question 4 – Proposition 2½ override for school building project:
“Shall the Town of Lincoln be allowed to exempt from the provisions of Proposition 2½, so-called, the amounts required to pay the Town’s allocable share of the bonds issued for the purposes of paying the costs of designing, renovating, rebuilding, equipping and furnishing the Lincoln School located on Ballfield Road, Lincoln, including payment of costs incidental or relate thereto?”
Question 5 – Corporations are not people/limit political contributions (nonbinding):
“Shall the state senator from this district be instructed to vote in favor of a resolution calling upon Congress to propose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution affirming that (1) corporations are not entitled to the constitutional rights of human beings, and (2) both Congress and the states may place limits on political contributions and political spending?”
Question 6 – Direction to Congress and President (nonbinding):
“Shall the state representative form this district be instructed to vote in favor of a resolution calling upon Congress and the President to: (1) prevent cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Veterans benefits, or to housing, food and unemployment assistance; (2) create and protect jobs by investing in manufacturing, schools, housing, renewable energy, transportation and other public services; (3) provide new revenues for these purposes and to reduce the long-term federal deficit by closing corporate tax loopholes, ending offshore tax havens, and raising taxes on incomes over $250,000; and (4) redirect military spending to these domestic needs by reducing the military budget, ending the war in Afghanistan and bringing U.S. troops home safely now?”