Local leaders discuss town meetings and elections during COVID

Local officials and a municipal attorney discussed how the COVID-19 public health emergency is changing spring town meetings and elections across the state in a 90-minute Zoom webinar on June 3.

Lauren Goldberg, a managing attorney at KP Law provided a “Practical Guide to Town Meetings and Elections During COVID-19.”

Lexington Town Manager Jim Malloy discussed his town’s experience holding the state’s first remote representative town meeting just a few days earlier.

Blackstone Town Administrator Dan Keyes talked about his town’s open town meeting, held outside last week.

Sandwich Town Manager George “Bud” Dunham and Town Clerk Taylor White reviewed how they prepared for and successfully held a dual state and local election in mid-May.

More than 300 select board members, finance committee members, town managers and administrators, and other municipal employees participated in the webinar.

• Holding Town Meetings During the Pandemic: Planning, Timing, and Considerations – KP Law presentation (720K PDF)
• Holding Municipal Elections During the Pandemic: Planning, Timing, and Considerations – KP Law presentation (620K PDF)
• Lexington Virtual Town Meeting presentation (106K PDF)
• Blackstone Town Meeting plan (213K PDF)
• Sandwich Town Election press release (27K DOC)