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Municipal Government Legislature OKs petitions to cancel 2 primaries
The Legislature has approved home rule petitions from Revere and Lowell to cancel preliminary elections that would have taken place this month, a move that is expected to save each city tens of thousands of dollars.
Revere began considering a home rule petition early this year, when it seemed unlikely that a preliminary election would be necessary, according to Election Commissioner Diane Colella. Eleven candidates ended up filing papers for the City Council’s five at-large seats, and there are three council candidates in one of the city’s six wards, but Colella said the value of a primary was still questionable.
“Basically, all [the preliminary election] would have done is knock one person off the ballot” in each of those two races, she said.
Colella estimates that the city will save at least $50,000 by not holding the election, including at least $32,000 for police officers and poll workers at the city’s 21 polling stations and roughly $5,000 each for the printing of ballots and for computer memory cards used to tabulate the ballots.
In Lowell, eliminating the preliminary election is expected to save between $44,000 and $50,000, according to Gail Cenik, general manager of Lowell’s Elections and Census Commission.
This year, there are 21 candidates competing for the city’s nine at-large council seats.
Lowell, which has not had a preliminary election since 1999, has avoided the preliminary round through home rule petitions before, Cenik said. She said legislators are encouraging Lowell to change its charter to increase the number of candidates that would trigger the need for a preliminary election.
Home rule petitions to avoid preliminary elections in Gloucester and Methuen, both of which involved mayoral races, fell short of winning legislative approval by the Sept. 1 deadline.
Municipal Government Legislature OKs petitions to cancel 2 primaries
Legislature OKs petitions to cancel 2 primaries
The Legislature has approved home rule petitions from Revere and Lowell to cancel preliminary elections that would have taken place this month, a move that is expected to save each city tens of thousands of dollars.
Revere began considering a home rule petition early this year, when it seemed unlikely that a preliminary election would be necessary, according to Election Commissioner Diane Colella. Eleven candidates ended up filing papers for the City Council’s five at-large seats, and there are three council candidates in one of the city’s six wards, but Colella said the value of a primary was still questionable.
“Basically, all [the preliminary election] would have done is knock one person off the ballot” in each of those two races, she said.
Colella estimates that the city will save at least $50,000 by not holding the election, including at least $32,000 for police officers and poll workers at the city’s 21 polling stations and roughly $5,000 each for the printing of ballots and for computer memory cards used to tabulate the ballots.
In Lowell, eliminating the preliminary election is expected to save between $44,000 and $50,000, according to Gail Cenik, general manager of Lowell’s Elections and Census Commission.
This year, there are 21 candidates competing for the city’s nine at-large council seats.
Lowell, which has not had a preliminary election since 1999, has avoided the preliminary round through home rule petitions before, Cenik said. She said legislators are encouraging Lowell to change its charter to increase the number of candidates that would trigger the need for a preliminary election.
Home rule petitions to avoid preliminary elections in Gloucester and Methuen, both of which involved mayoral races, fell short of winning legislative approval by the Sept. 1 deadline.
Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich
