7 File On 'Slow' Opening Day for Candidates

Roughly half as many candidates put in paperwork Wednesday for local elections as compared to 2012, although officials say it's too soon to tell whether that's an indicator there may be limited interest this year.

Five candidates filed for town office in Hampton on the first day of the annual candidate filing period Wednesday, while two town candidates filed in North Hampton. No paperwork was submitted for any of the various Hampton, North Hampton and Winnacunnet school district positions.

A full list of the available positions and when and how to file is available here.

In Hampton, incumbent Town Clerk Jane Marzinzik and Supervisor of the Checklist candidate Jeannine G. St. Germain were the first to register. They were later joined by incumbent Hampton Planning Board Chairman Fran McMahon, incumbent Trustee of the Trust Funds member William Hartley, and incumbent Hampton Budget Committee member Mark McFarlin, in that order.

In North Hampton, incumbent Town Clerk Sue Buchanan and incumbent North Hampton Zoning Board member David Buber submitted their paperwork Wednesday.

Marzinzik said this year's filing period is definitely "a slow start" in comparison to 2012, when 10 candidates — some of whom came first thing in the morning — filed on opening day.

Many individuals are expected to submit their paperwork "last minute," although Marzinzik said she hasn't "heard a whole lot" of chatter about individuals planning to run campaigns for many of this year's contested positions.

Whether that means fewer people will challenge what will likely be an incumbent-heavy ticket — one with many chair positions on the line — is unknown, as Marzinzik said the lack of talk and speculation could mean everything happens at the last minute.

"It's hard to tell," she said.

Buchanan agreed.

"My feeling is it’s probably going to be a lot of incumbents," she said. "If there are any surprises, it'll be at five minutes of 5 [p.m.] next Friday [when the filing period closes]. That will be the tell-time. It seems like they all wait... It's become kind of a little game."

The various town and school elections will be decided in March through the 2013 annual town meeting process.