The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

elections

Race for local elected office kicks off

Nomination papers are now available for the following local offices, which will appear on the March 30, 2020 town election ballot. Candidates must obtain the signatures of 35 registered Lincoln voters. The last day to obtain nomination papers is Thursday, Feb. 6. The deadline for submitting papers with signatures for certification to the Registrars of Voters is Monday, Feb. 10.

For additional information, please contact the Town Clerk’s Office at 781-259-2607 or email Valerie Fox at foxv@lincolntown.org.

Voters approve ban on cannabis businesses in Lincoln

Lincoln voters have affirmed a ban on cannabis retail businesses in Lincoln that was first passed at a Special Town Meeting in October 2018.

Lincoln residents voted in favor of legalizing sales of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts in a statewide vote in 2016. Because of that result, state law required a twi0thirds majority at Town Meeting and a simple majority in an election if residents wanted to ban cannabis businesses within Lincoln. The ban can be reversed by another vote in the future if the town wishes, but once cannabis sales are legalized, they can’t be banned later. 

In unofficial results, the ban was affirmed this week by a margin of 279-126 (69% to 31%) on the ballot question. Last October, the ban achieved the required two-thirds majority by a tally of 73% to 27%.

Personal, noncommercial growing and possession of recreational marijuana are unaffected. Massachusetts law allows residents 21 and older to use the drug and have up to one ounce on their person (up to 10 ounces in their homes). Households with one adult over 21 can also grow up to six marijuana plants, or 12 plants if there are two adults in the household.

The Lincoln move also will have no effect on potential home delivery of marijuana products, should the state’s Cannabis Control Commission decide to allow it. As the law now stands, medical dispensaries can deliver cannabis products to registered patients but doesn’t permit deliveries of recreational pot.

Residents also voted in a new slate of town officials in this week’s election (though none of the races was contested). Click here for full election results. 

 

Election ballot includes marijuana question

For the first time in recent memory, the March 25 town election does not feature any contested races—but there’s a ballot question that will decide whether marijuana retail establishments will be allowed in town.

Because Lincoln residents voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in the 2016 state election, a ban on retail establishments in town requires two things: a two-thirds majority at Town Meeting, and a simple majority at the ballot box. The ban passed by a vote of 73–27% (140–53) at a Special Town Meeting in October 2018. Monday’s election is the second step needed to enact the ban. A “yes” vote will affirm the ban that was approved in October.

The regulatory path for banning marijuana businesses is a one-way street; a ban can always be reversed in the future, but once legalized, they can’t be prohibited later. A retail ban would not affect the statewide legalization of possession (in limited quantities) and private use of marijuana for medical and recreational purposes.

Click here to see a previously published list of residents running for town office. A sample ballot appears below; click on the image to see larger versions.

Who’s running for town office in March

Here is a list of those who have filed appears with the Town Clerk to run for office in the March 25 election. Click here for links to the web pages for these boards and committees, which list current members. Candidates have until February 20 to withdraw in time to have their name not appear on the ballot.


* incumbent running for reelection

** previously appointed to fill vacancies in 2018 (Trintje Gnazzo replaced Jena Salon and Adam Hogue replaced Alvin Schmertzler; Valerie Fox replaced Susan Brooks)

School project bonding approved in ballot vote

In unofficial results for the December 3 ballot vote, a comfortable majority of Lincoln residents gave the go-ahead for the $92.9 million Lincoln School project—though the margin was not as large as the one at the December 1 Special Town Meeting.

Sixty-five percent of Lincoln voters who cast a ballot voted yes, clearing the way for the town to borrow $88.5 million to renovate and partially rebuild the Lincoln School. The 68%–32% margin easily cleared the required hurdle for a simple majority—though it was notably lower than the 89%–11% margin at Saturday’s vote, which required a two-thirds majority to pass.

The election saw a 35 percent turnout of Lincoln’s 4,797 registered voters.

Early next year, the Finance Committee will determine what amounts of the total to borrow and when. The final interest rate won’t be known until just before the first bond purchase. The panel has been using interest rates of 4% and 5% to estimate the range of property tax increases (currently 17.2%–19.4%), though the full impact of the increase will not occur right away.

Click here to see a map of Lincoln’s voting precincts.

 

Lincoln’s 2018 election results

(Editor’s note: This incorporates a correction on November 8 to fix an error in the Question 1 numbers.)

Lincoln voters voted to reelect Gov. Charlie Baker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Katherine Clark, mirroring the rest of the state and Congressional district.

By large margins, Lincoln also voted to approve two ballot measures: one that advocates a Constitutional amendment regarding corporate personhood and political spending, and one that upholds a bill prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity in public places. The town also voted by an even wider margin against a proposal to establish patient assignment limits for hospital nurses.

Lincoln’s voting precincts (click to enlarge)

Early voting continues to increase in popularity, with 40% of Lincoln ballots being cast before Election Day (1,395 out of 3,491 total ballots).

Below are Lincoln’s results for the major races and the three ballot questions (excluding blanks, third-party and write-in votes). The totals in this table were calculated by the Lincoln Squirrel from numbers in the full election results posted by the Town Clerk’s office, so any errors are the Squirrel’s. Click here for the full Massachusetts results.

Precinct 1Precinct 2TOTALS
GOVERNORBaker & Polito (R)1,6989872,685
Gonzalez & Palfrey (D)367286563
U.S. SENATORWarren (D)1,1527911,943
Diehl (R)9645181,482
U.S. REPRESENTATIVEClark (D)1,1581,7472,788
Hugo (R)198348614
QUESTION 1 (establish nurse/patient ratios?)Yes476331807
No1,5879692,556
QUESTION 2 (advocate Constitutional change re. corporate spending and personhood?)Yes1,7071,0482,755
No363257620
QUESTION 3 (uphold transgender rights?)Yes1,7771,0482,825
No321259580

Marijuana business ban passes at Special Town Meeting

Residents took the first step to ban marijuana-based businesses in Lincoln, at least for now, as residents approved a full ban at the October 18 Special Town Meeting.

Because Lincoln residents voted in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in the 2016 state election, a two-thirds majority was required to enact the ban. The vote total according to a standing count was 73 percent in favor (140 votes) vs. 27 percent against (53 votes). However, a simple majority must also approve the ban at the town election in March 2019.  

Before the vote on the ban, a large majority of residents approved extending the current moratorium on marijuana businesses until June 30, 2019.

In an earlier town survey sponsored by the Marijuana Study Committee that garnered 408 responses, 61 percent supported a full ban. Of the 39 percent who did not, 85 percent supported allowing marijuana cultivation in town and 70 percent were in favor of allowing retail sales of marijuana products. In the 2016 state vote, 53 percent of the 3,783 Lincoln residents who cast ballots residents voted to legalize recreational marijuana.

The Agricultural Commission voted in August to support commercial cultivation of marijuana in Lincoln. However, the Planning Board and the Board of Selectmen both unanimously recommended that residents approve the full ban. If the town were to allow commercial marijuana cultivation, it would be in keeping with the town’s agricultural character, the committee noted. However, the town would not gain any revenue, whereas if retail establishments were allowed, the town could reap up to 3 percent of gross sales.

  • Click here for FAQs on commercial marijuana in Lincoln (handout from the State of the Town meeting)

Town officials did not have any estimates on either the amount of revenue that retail sales might bring in, nor the cost of additional police time that could be incurred. Police Chief Kevin Kennedy noted that because sales of marijuana is still illegal federally, products must be paid for with cash, potentially increasing the risk of robbery. Marijuana establishments can hire private guards, but they can’t be armed, he said.

Selectmen noted on Saturday that the full ban can be reserved in the future, but once legalized, marijuana businesses could not be banned later. Bedford, Weston, Concord, Sudbury, and Lexington have already approved full commercial bans. Wayland has done so at the ballot box but not at Town Meeting, while Waltham’s vote is still pending.

Owing to its low population density and location, “Lincoln is a most unattractive town in which to put a retail establishment” said Lincoln resident and cannabis operator/educator Jean Welsh, who was a panelist at a public forum on the issue in May. However, existing medical marijuana cultivation facilities in Massachusetts “are extremely secure; we have regulated them to the hilt,” she said. There are 30 dispensaries and about a dozen medical marijuana farms in the Commonwealth, “and we’re just not having issues,” she said.

Saying that alcohol is more dangerous than pot, Welsh wondered if the town ought to ban growing hops, which are used to make beer. For adults, marijuana “just isn’t that dangerous, folks, and I think in five to ten years you’re going to be buying it at Whole Foods anyway.”

The ban does not affect personal, noncommercial growing and possession of recreational marijuana, Selectman James Craig pointed out. Massachusetts law allows residents 21 and older to use the drug and have up to one ounce on their person (up to 10 ounces in their homes). Households with one adult over 21 can also grow up to six marijuana plants, or 12 plants if there are two adults in the household.

The Lincoln move has no effect on potential home delivery of marijuana products. The state Cannabis Control Commission does not currently allow home delivery of cannabis for recreational use, but it is considering allowing small Massachusetts-based marijuana retailers to make in-state home deliveries.

A few residents spoke against instituting the full ban. Given the restrictions on lot size for cultivation and on public visibility of the marijuana plants, “It doesn’t seem like it’s going to change the landscape very much,” said Sharon Antia. “Let’s just do it.”

Two medical professionals voiced warnings about marijuana’s effects on teenage brains. In treating teenagers and young adults having their first psychotic break, “marijuana is the single most important factor I have seen over the years,” said Rakesh Kharmacharya, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a clinician at McLean Hospital.

But such information is missing the point of the Town Meeting vote, said Ben Wells. “This isn’t a vote to ban adult use. That genie is out of the bottle. I’m concerned about teen use [of marijuana], but that’s not what’s on the ballot today. I’d hate to see us punish our farmers and entrepreneurs to send a message,” he said.

Peter Braun argued in favor of the full ban. “I’m informed by the wisdom of our surrounding towns,” he said, adding that “we need to see how it plays out” in towns that do allow marijuana businesses.

Primary results for Lincoln

In the September 4 primary for Massachusetts governor, Lincoln opted for Democrat Jay Gonzalez by a margin of 71% to 29% and Republican incumbent Charlie Baker, 78% to 22%, in the only category where both parties had a contested primary. The tables below show Lincoln’s results for the contested races for each party (write-in and blank ballots are not included in the totals).

Joachim wins second seat on L-S committee

Ellen Joachim of Sudbury has won the second write-in seat on the Lincoln-Sudbury District School Committee. She will join Lincoln’s Carol Kasper, who earned the most votes—and who had endorsed Joachim as her unofficial running mate.

In Sudbury, Joachim won by a margin of 866 to 677, according to Sudbury’s unofficial results posted Tuesday afternoon. She also won Lincoln by a whopping 712–16 margin. When adding in Lincoln’s official results (see table), Joachim had a two-town total of 1,578 votes compared to 693 for Hullinger. A third write-in candidate on the ballot, Cara Endyke-Doran of Sudbury, got 236 votes in Sudbury and two in Lincoln.

Kasper will take the seat of retiring Lincoln member Nancy Marshall. Committee member Gerald Quirk of Sudbury decided not to run again after the candidates’ filing deadline had passed, necessitating the write-in campaign. The race was the subject of vigorous campaigning by their supporters in both Lincoln and Sudbury, including numerous letters to the editor. 

The official results also correct an error in the unofficial results posted earlier today in the Squirrel, which mistakenly listed 366 write-in votes for Lincoln School Committee in Precinct 1 (they were actually blank ballots).