Candidates outnumber seats, 2-1
by Kristin Pazulski
After a contentious year in Chestnut Hill, 54 candidates have lined up
for 24 seats on the Community Association board in what may be the most
crowded field in the organization’s history.
Some contenders have aligned themselves with one of two groups presenting
candidate slates: the Second Opinion Caucus and the Action Alliance.
A look through past issues of the Chestnut Hill Local failed to turn
up any field of even 30 candidates. And even in the 1980s, when the number
of hopefuls climbed into the upper 20s, the candidates never outnumbered
the seats 2-1. In recent years, there have even been elections where there
weren’t enough candidates to fill the positions.
There had been 55 candidates, but last week the current vice president
of the physical division, Sanjiv Jain, withdrew his candidacy. He threw
his support to the Action Alliance.
The 24 openings consist of 12 three-year terms and 12 one-year terms.
The top dozen vote-getters will step into the three-year terms; the next
12 highest, the one-year posts.
Votes will be taken through April, with the deadline to cast ballots
April 27. Only CHCA members – there are about 2,500 of them –
may vote. Non-members may join and vote at the same time. There is a $30
membership fee.
Ballots are printed in the Local (Page 8 this issue) and appear online
at www.chestnuthilllocal.com. Completed ballots should be mailed to Town
Hall or handed in there. Each ballot must be placed in an individual envelope,
marked “BALLOT.”
The deadline to vote is the Thursday, April 27, annual meeting, regardless
of the postmark.
The public counting will occur after the meeting by the judges of election
and their volunteers, probably that Friday or Saturday. The name of each
voter will be read aloud to confirm CHCA membership, and the vote logged.
At the end of the counting, the judges will compare tally lists to ensure
that no miscounts have been made. Challenged votes — those not clear
enough to be read or those in which CHCA membership is questioned —
will be placed in a separate pile to later determine validity.
The notice of elections, when determined, will be posted on the Town
Hall door, including the names of the candidates with the number of votes
each received.
All ballots will be saved for 30 days and will be available for examination
during that time.
Candidates were asked to provide the Local with a photo, personal information,
statements and priorities. Each statement and each list of priorities
was restricted to 300 words. Below is the list of candidates, in alphabetical
order, with the information they provided.
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