Seekonk Selectmen to Reconsider Town Meeting Date

Seekonk's Jews may not have to choose between attending Town Meeting or a Passover Seder. Selectmen will consider changing the date of the meeting from March 25, which is the first and most important night of the Jewish holiday, to March 27.

A special selectmen session with the town meeting date as the only item on the agenda will take place Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

"March 27 occurs during the holiday of Passover, however, it is not the first night of Passover when families meet for Seder," wrote Selectmen Chair Francis Cavaco in a Monday press release. 

The Town Meeting warrant dated for March 25 was signed Friday by three (Cavaco, Bob McLintock and Gary Sagar) of the five selectmen, which is enough support for the session to take place. Selectmen Dave Parker and Nelson Almeida refused to sign the warrant because of the meeting date. This sparked a community discussion, with selectmen candidates Mike Brady and Paul Buckley sharing their opinions. 

"I feel the public discussion of tolerance and sensitivity to the Jewish holiday of Passover has been a welcome discussion," wrote Cavaco in the press release. "In this frantic and hurried environment we live in, it is beneficial to examine our deeply held religious beliefs and to remember that we should still hold sacred religious holidays and faith."