Getting involved in town politics is easier than one might think. A place to start would be at the Feb. 2 town caucus, an open meeting held to nominate candidates for each vacancy in town government.
Any registered voter can attend town caucus, regardless of party affiliation, and can nominate anyone they’d like as a candidate for any open position. Nominees do not have to be present at the meeting. Those in attendance at the caucus vote on the nominations, and the two people receiving the highest number of votes for each opening become the official nominees. According to Town Clerk Janet Vellante, the whole process takes less than half an hour. Vellante said about 50 people usually turn out for the caucus, which requires a quorum of 25.
To have their names appear on the ballot at town election, scheduled for April 1 this year, nominees have 10 days after the caucus to sign the caucus certificate of nomination in the Town Clerk’s office. But there is another way to get on the ballot. Anyone wanting to run for office who is not nominated at town caucus can get on the ballot by taking out nomination papers, available now in the Town Clerk’s office. Candidates must get signatures on the nomination papers from 29 registered voters, and file the papers with the Town Clerk by Feb. 12.
Harvard Caucus 2008
This year there are 18 town positions to be filled. The open positions, and the incumbents, are listed below:
