WARWICK — To get on the ballot for the annual town election planned for May 17, interested candidates must get nomination paperwork from the Town Clerk’s Office and collect 20 signatures from registered voters by March 29.
After March 29, when signed nomination papers are due back to Town Clerk John Paganetti, only write-in candidacy is an option. A volunteer will be stationed on the town common on Saturday at 11 a.m. so residents can stop by and sign nomination papers for candidates.
Town Coordinator David Young said he requested that Paganetti prepare blanket nomination papers for incumbents, and these papers will be provided to individuals for the following named offices on request, by emailing townclerk@town.warwick.ma.us.
■Board of Assessors (Keith Ross)
■Board of Health (Nancy Lyman)
■Cemetery Commission (Brad Matthews)
■Town constable (Bruce Kilhart)
■Transfer Station commissioner (Mike Mankowsky)
■Tree warden (Sharon Matthews)
■Board of Library Trustees (Andrea Woods and Nadia Marti)
■Highway Commission (Verne Bass)
The position of town moderator will need to be filled as David Koester has announced he will not seek re-election. Additionally, a three year Selectboard seat is opening up as current Selectboard Chair Lawrence “Doc” Pruyne is not seeking re-election.
Pruyne has been on the Selectboard for six years. Reflecting on his tenure, he said leading Warwick to become the first town in the state to ban the use of glyphosate, the chemical found in herbicides, in 2017 “is a progressive development that (he’s) happy to have been a part of.”
Pruyne said his decision not to seek re-election is based on a combination of factors, including time and energy limits. He said he is pursuing possible career opportunities that may become too time-consuming for him to remain on the board, and he intends to publish a novel by the end of the year. Another factor, he said, is his “interest in letting somebody else take their shot” at being on the Selectboard.
Serving on the board is an opportunity to “meet all kinds of interesting people,” and be involved with local issues, Pruyne said. While at times the work can feel like assembling a puzzle, the Selectboard is an essential piece of Warwick’s local government.
“There’s a lot of value in carrying out the boilerplate duties, like signing people’s paychecks or deciding how many streams in the recycling system we should have,” Pruyne said. “The problems are sometimes like a puzzle that’s not always easy to put together, but somebody’s gotta do it.”
Zack DeLuca can be reached at zdeluca@recorder.com or 413-930-4579.