Bonina Appointed to Board of Registrar of Voters

At the October 24th Select Board meeting, resident John Bonina was appointed to fill the final open seat on the Board of Registrar of Voters. Bonina was one of three candidates put forward for consideration by the Grafton Democratic Town Committee via a letter to the Town Clerk on May 18, 2023. The two other candidates were Stephen Crowley and Charlotte Jordan. Bonina will occupy Seat 3, which comes with a term expiration of June 30, 2024. Bonina was the second Registrar appointed this month. Lisa Yitts was appointed as a Registrar at the October 10th meeting and given Seat 1. Her term will expire June 30,2026. The Board of Registrars now has its full complement of 4 members.

Prior to his appointment vote, Bonina explained to the Select Board members he had a lot of interest in making sure that our election process is done to the best of our ability. He further stated he would try to help in any way to make sure that happens.

The second candidate, Stephen Crowley, started out by alerting the Select Board he may, in fact, be ineligible for appointment. Crowley informed the Board he is the Treasurer of the Democratic Town Committee, a member of the Grafton Recreation Commission and a member of the Grafton Open Space and Recreation Committee. Crowley was allowed to continue, but when he concluded his explanation for why he wanted to be appointed as a Registrar, the eligibility issue was revisited. Select Board member Ann Marie Foley indicated she had received an email citing the law prohibiting Crowley's appointment. After Crowley read the law aloud, the Select Board appeared to conclude Crowley was ineligible for appointment. It remains unclear why Crowley's name was put forward by the Town Clerk as a viable Registrar candidate.

The final candidate, Charlotte Jordan, joined the meeting remotely. The audio was a little difficult to understand, but Jordan seemed to explain she was interested in the position to insure voters have a fair and equal voice and to help enforce voting laws. After Jordan spoke, the Select Board voted unanimously to appoint Bonina.