Marion’s Planning Board took on a new look after the May 14 election saw Alanna Nelson and Jonathan Henry voted into two open seats vied for by five candidates, including incumbent Andrew Daniel.
Henry and Nelson, representing the bookends of experience and new blood, garnered 241 and 245 votes respectively to outdistance Tucker Burr (213), Daniel (207), and Tom Friedman (107) in the town’s only contested race. There was one write-in vote and 116 ballots left blank.
Asked if she felt more exhilaration or relief at the result, Nelson answered, “Gratitude, because I appreciate the confidence people had in me and I appreciate the way people have opened up…. I feel very grateful for all the time people put in, introduced me, sharing perspectives.”
A former four-term selectman, Henry brings decades of experience in municipal government and readily admits he entered the race at the 11th hour out of concern that the seats might not be filled. Now he begins a three-year term on a board he had never served on until now.
“It was holding the Planning Board up, not getting that business done, so I said I’m not going to, you know, ‘Hottest place in hell is reserved for him who is idle in a crisis,'” said Henry, paraphrasing 12th century Italian poet Dante Alighieri. “I’m glad to do something.”
For Nelson, the what-I-would-do thoughts of an outsider take on a whole new weight with the result and the experience of being sworn-in by Town Clerk Lissa Magauran.
“I feel like I have a lot of homework to do over the weekend to make sure I can go to Monday and really be as on top of things,” said Nelson, referencing the scheduled May 17 Planning Board meeting. “That’s one of the things that I learned over this process; it’s kind of like sailing. You can never do enough of it, you learn every time that you go out and, so, just like when you sail, you’re observant and you try to be ready for it. That’s kind of the way I’m going to approach the Planning Board.
“It’s funny, the analogy, because it’s like one of those things you keep on learning, and maybe that’s why it appeals to me,” Nelson continued. “The winds are different every time, and you do your best to be prepared for it.”
The infinite waters and wrinkles in cases presented require dedication and discipline and, at the same time, a mind unfettered by expectations.
“And you need to remember where you’re going; that’s the other part. You’ve got to stay focused on where you want to go,” said Nelson. “Fortunately, we’ve got some good guidance on that in terms of what’s been set up in the town so far, so we can follow that.”
Motivated in part by potential property interests on a personal level, Nelson said she began attended Planning Board Zoom meetings in early January. “It’s helpful to know what are the topics that the town is looking for, so I’ve been lurking for a while,” she said.
By all accounts, Friday’s turnout was a disappointment, numbering only 565 voters. Polls at the Cushing Community Center closed at 7:00 pm instead of the traditional 8:00 pm, and two bewildered would-be voters arrived during the aftermath only to learn of the truncated schedule. The Select Board had approved the change and the town had published the change. It was also a slow day for write-in votes, as a total of 24 were spread thinly across seven elections.
With 494 votes, Select Board Chair Randy Parker ran unopposed and begins a new three-year term. The race saw six write-in votes and 65 ballots left blank, as were incumbents George “TJ” Walker (426 votes against four write-ins and 135 blank) to the Board of Assessors, Brad Gordon (470 votes against five write-ins and 90 blank) as town moderator, and John Howard (431 votes against three write-ins and 131 blank) to the Board of Health.
Marion School Committee incumbents Mary Beauregard (414 votes), Michelle Smith (402), and April Rios (394) ran unopposed and were re-elected, Smith and Rios to three-year terms. Because Beauregard was appointed in the days following the 2020 election after a write-in winner declined the seat, her term will expire in 2023. According to Magauran, the appointment of an elected official expires at the end of the current term. Then that appointee would have to be elected for the next term. There were three write-ins in the 2021 race with 482 ballots left blank.
Deborah Ewing (428 votes) will fill the seat vacated by Open Space Acquisition Committee Vice Chair Alan Harris, who chose not to run for re-election. There were two write-ins and 135 ballots left blank.
Marion Town Election
By Mick Colageo