GREENFIELD — Five candidates vying for three open seats on the School Committee and a ballot question concerning a proposed change to the city charter top Tuesday’s ballot.
Additionally, the emergence of write-in City Council candidates has created races for two precincts.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Greenfield High School.
Candidates for School Committee include incumbents Glenn Johnson-Mussad and Susan Hollins, as well as newcomers Daryl Essensa, Kathryn Lynn Martini and Elizabeth Ann Deneeve. Johnson-Mussad, Martini and Deneeve have been campaigning as a “slate” of candidates as a testament to their shared values.
Committee member Katie Caron, after four years on the committee, is not running for re-election.
The only question on Tuesday’s ballot seeks to change the number of signatures required by the charter for a citizen’s referendum petition from the current threshold of 10% of voters voting in the most recent biennial city election, to 7% of all registered voters in the most recent biennial city election.
A citizen’s referendum petition is the process used when a resident wishes to challenge a vote made by City Council. Before a question can be brought to ballot, a minimum number of signatures must be collected by residents.
The 7%, which was recommended to the full council by the Appointments and Ordinances Committee, demonstrates a compromise between those who wished to see the threshold return to the 5% of registered voters required by the original charter in the year 2000 — before it was amended in 2010 to the current threshold — and the 10% of registered voters in the last biennial election recommended by the now-disbanded Charter Review Committee.
A “Yes” vote will raise the threshold for signatures needed; a “No” vote will keep the threshold where it is currently.
On the ballot for City Council is City Council President Penny Ricketts, running uncontested for one of the two seats for councilors-at-large; Precinct 6 Councilor Sheila Gilmour, running uncontested for another four-year term; and Precinct 8 Councilor Douglas Mayo, running uncontested for another four-year term.
Marianne Bullock is running uncontested for councilor of Precinct 5, currently occupied by Tim Dolan, whose term ends this year; and Jasper Lapienski is running for councilor of Precinct 7, a position currently held by Otis Wheeler, whose term also ends this year.
While the ballot itself presents no contested races for City Council — with no candidates listed for councilor of Precinct 9, currently occupied by Norman Hirschfeld, and none for the position of councilor-at-large, currently occupied by Ashli Stempel-Rae — write-in campaigns have turned at least two races into contested races. Both Hirschfeld and Stempel-Rae’s terms end this year.
Thanks to write-in campaigns — at least four candidates have reached out to the Greenfield Recorder — precincts 7 and 9 have become contested.
Write-in candidate Carisa Clifford is running against Lapienski for the four-year term serving Precinct 7. Clifford, a registered nurse since 1995, said as a city councilor she would encourage residents to reach out to her with their concerns. Her biggest motivator for running, she said, is wanting to be more involved in how the city’s money is spent.
Resident Mike Corona announced last month his intention to run a write-in campaign to represent Precinct 9. Corona recently moved back to Greenfield with his wife, who grew up in Franklin County before moving to Manhattan. Together, they run a construction and property management business. Corona said he is running to “stand up for people who feel their voices haven’t been heard” in Greenfield.
Derek Helie has also announced a write-in campaign to represent Precinct 9. Helie said he and his wife are active in the Greenfield school system, and he previously worked as a construction manager at the jelly factory, JM Smucker. He believes in reducing the tax burden, expanding access to GCET in his precinct and finding ways to bring business back to Greenfield.
Michael Terounzo, who also ran for City Council in 2019, announced in September his write-in candidacy for one of the vacant at-large seats. Terounzo is a longtime resident of the city, currently raising two children in the Greenfield school system. He is campaigning on a commitment to invest in education, and a desire to give back to the community he grew up in.
Although two candidates — James Geisman and Robert Wolanske — are listed on the ballot for a four-year term on the Board of Assessors, City Clerk Kathy Scott has confirmed Wolanske has submitted a withdrawal.
“However, this was submitted past the deadline to be removed from the ballot; by law that person must still appear on the ballot,” Scott wrote in an email. “People can vote for that person; any votes that person receives will be counted. If they were to receive the most votes, I will contact the City Attorney and Elections.”
Other positions on the ballot are as follows:
■Trustee of A.K. Warner Trust Fund, three seats with two-year terms: Sally Ahearn and Marilyn Hannan.
■Elector Under the Will of Oliver Smith, two-year term: no candidates.
■Trustee of Jennie L. Bascom Education Fund, three seats with two-year terms: no candidates.