Elections

First Time Candidate Joining Race for Watertown Town Council

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A trained family mediator and community organizer, Caroline Bays announced her candidacy for Watertown Councilor-at-Large today. A Watertown resident for 19 years, Caroline and her husband Bill chose Watertown as an affordable, diverse community in which to raise their two children Austin and Susannah. She has organized volunteers and talked with Watertown voters about the issues in local campaigns to elect Watertown Councilors Susan Falkoff and Tony Palomba, State Representative Jon Hecht, State Senator Will Brownsberger, as well as U.S. Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren. “I’ve spoken to people all over Watertown as I have campaigned for other candidates. I’ve talked to people about issues that upset them as well as the many strengths of our community,” says Bays.

Election 2017

One Watertown Town Councilor Will Not Run for Re-election This Fall

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As candidates begin pulling papers to run in the 2017 Watertown Town Election, one longtime Town Councilor will not be seeking another term. 

Councilor At-Large Susan Falkoff said she has decided to step down from the Council at the end of her term. “It’s just time,” Falkoff said. “I feel like I have made a good contribution. A lot of things I have worked on have come to fruition.” She was first elected in 2003, but lost in 2005 “along with the CPA,” Falkoff said.

Elections

Town Council Looking for Ways to Make Early Voting Work More Smoothly

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Early voting was a hit in Watertown during the Presidential Election, but the influx of people sometimes overwhelmed the staff of the Clerk’s office. The Town Council began looking for ways for it to work better next time. There were 5,855 early votes cast, with another 796 and 86 e-voters – military service men and women and others who qualify, Town Clerk John Flynn told the Town Council’s State, Federal and Regional Government Committee Tuesday night. That made up 36 percent of the votes cast. That well exceeded the number Flynn expected to see.

Elections

Election 2016: Issues with Early Voting, How Question 5 Appeared on Ballot

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The Nov. 8 election drew a huge number of Watertown voters, but there were issues with the presidential election that also featured the Community Preservation Act ballot question. Early voting proved popular with residents, and about 7,000 voters casted their ballots before election day. After filling out their voters would fold their ballots and put them in an envelope and handed it back to the staff at the Town Clerk’s office. The envelopes went to the precinct where the voter lives, and were put through the machine.

Community Preservation Act

LETTER: The Election is Over, Losers Should Accept Results Nationally and Locally

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To the editor,

On November 8, 2013 the 50 States and District of Columbia held elections for President of the United States. The results are in and at last count as many as 306 electors were won by Donald Trump.For the benefit of those who forgot their High School Civics, Article 2 of the Constitution makes it clear, the Sovereign State Elect the President. The State Legislatures are empowered to select Electors in whatever manner they see fit. There is no requirement that popular vote be held. In fact it was process where States slowly started adopting a popular vote.

Elections

LETTER: Rough and Tumble Campaign Over, Now it’s Time to Work Together

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To the editor,

As one of the most vocal opponents of the CPA during the campaign, I’d like to congratulate the proponents on their victory.  

There is no doubt that this campaign was heated.  Often times, hyperbole came from both sides. That’s what happens in a campaign. For those of us who have been involved in politics for years, it’s not surprise, nor do we find anything out of the ordinary. Politics is a blood sport during a campaign.

Elections

Supporters of CPA Win the Second Time Around, See How Your Precinct Voted

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The second time was the charm for proponents of the Community Preservation Act in Watertown, which won with nearly 60 percent of the vote on Tuesday. 

The ballot question will create a fund for projects in three areas: affordable housing, open space and historic preservation. Jennifer Van Campen, one of the leaders of Invest in Watertown, the group that put the CPA on the ballot, said she was confident going into election. “I actually welt that we were going to win all along,” Van Campen said. The confidence came despite the fact Watertown voters rejected the CPA in 2005. Also, there was also an active “No” campaign from the Concerned Watertown Homeowners, who funding mechanism because it would hurt families and residents struggling to afford living in town.

Charter Schools

Watertown Approves CPA, Clinton Gets Most Votes in Watertown

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Watertown voters adopted Question 5, the much debated Community Preservation Act, on Tuesday, with “Yes” receiving nearly 60 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s Presidential Election, which saw heavy voter turnout. Question 5 received 10,258 Yes votes and 6,896 No votes in the election where 75 percent of Watertown votes cast a ballot. In the presidential election, Democrat Hillary Clinton received the most votes – 12,924 (71 percent) – and Republican Donald Trump got 3,921 (21 percent). Libertarian Gary Johnson received 625 votes (3 percent), Green-Rainbow Party candidate Jill Stein got 320 (2 percent), and there were 405 write-in votes (2 percent). In the state ballot questions, Watertown voted 5,258 for Question 1 (30 percent), the measure asking to add slots at a horse race track, and 12,237 against (70 percent).