Harvard has a long tradition of keeping national party politics at arm’s length in local elections. So it was disconcerting to see signs of its presence in this fall’s contest for a selectman seat. It reared its head at the annual Columbus Day flea market, where a candidate’s supporter-sign-up sheet was prominently displayed in the Democrats’ booth. Then on election day, one candidate’s supporters held signs that included posters for several Democratic candidates for state office, as if to leverage that party’s 2-1 advantage over registered Republicans in town. And it was hard to miss the collection of Republican posters assembled by the other candidate’s supporters that was spread along a stone wall, a not-so-subtle signal to like-minded voters.
In interviews, both candidates insisted they were nonpartisan. And in previous elections, when asked by the Press, the chairs of the Republican and Democratic town committees have vowed not to endorse candidates for local office. We think it should stay that way.
