Wakefield Special Election Not In The Cards

WAKEFIELD, MA — Town Council opted not to bring in a seventh councilor until April, voting against holding a special election to fill the late Peter May's unexpired term.

Town Council on Monday made it clear they were content risking a potential 3-3 vote at some point, saying filling May's seat for what would be at most three months isn't worth the work, cost and confusion.

"It has nothing to do with being afraid to fill Peter's spot and not wanting to fill it," Councilor Ann Santos said. "I just don't see cost-benefit, so I am utterly against having a special town election."

Town Clerk Betsy Sheeran, who oversees all Wakefield elections, vehemently opposed a special election.

"There's many facets to it, to include the schools, money and the length of time and the procedure that it takes for someone from the time they pulls papers until they actually have the election," she said.

May died last month after a battle with ALS. His seat was to be up in April's town election. A special election would fill that seat until then, but would take about 80 days just to allow for interested candidates to pull papers and gather signatures and for the ballots to be printed.

A special election would cost the city between $15,000-$20,000 and increase the workload at Town Hall. But many were more concerned with confusing voters and granting someone the power of the incumbency heading into April.

Not everyone thought that was reason enough to keep the seat unfilled. Councilor Ed Dombroksi put forth a motion and was the lone vote for holding a special election.

"As frustrating as the timing may be and the logistics may be, this is a democracy," Dombroski said. "We have a process here."

Dombroski said the town should be fully represented, and was wary of what a 3-3 vote might mean for potentially important issues that could arise between January and April.

"I don't think you can put a price on democracy," he said.

There is still a chance of the seat being filled. A petition of at least 200 registered voters calling for a special election would force the town's hand.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Wakefield Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.

Watch the full Town Council meeting on WCAT here.