CHINA: Four candidates vie for two selectmen’s seats

by Mary Grow

With the deadline for returning nomination papers passed, China Town Clerk Angela Nelson reported only one contest on the Nov. 2 election ballot, four candidates for two seats on the Board of Selectmen.

There are four town positions for which no name will appear on the ballot.

Candidates for selectman are incumbent Wayne Chadwick and Brent Chesley, Peter Foote and Jeanne Marquis. Incumbent Irene Belanger did not hand in papers.

For the planning board, Natale Tripodi is a candidate for re-election as the alternate at-large member. There are no names on the ballot for District 1, Chairman Randall Downer’s position, or District 3, a seat that has been vacant for months.

For the budget committee, Thomas Rumpf, currently the representative from District 2 whose term would end in 2022, is unopposed for election as chairman, the position Robert Batteese is retiring from after many years. Kevin Maroon is seeking re-election as the District 1 representative.

There is no candidate on the ballot for the budget committee District 3 seat currently held by Dana Buswell. If Rumpf is elected chairman, Town Clerk Angela Nelson said selectmen will be able to appoint a new member from District 2, to serve for one year.

Neil Farrington is not seeking re-election as one of China’s two members of the Regional School Unit #18 board of directors, and no other name is on the ballot.

Vacant positions for which no candidate is on the ballot can be filled in one of three ways:

— A resident can announce he or she is a candidate and ask voters in advance for their write-in votes;
— Voters can write in a name of their choice, and town officials will run down the list, starting with the name that appears most often, until someone accepts the position; or
— If neither of those methods works, selectmen can seek and appoint a volunteer.

China’s District One is in the northwestern part of town; District Two, northeastern part; District Three, southeastern part; and District Four, southwestern part. Maps of the districts are on the website, china.govoffice.com, under the planning board and the budget committee.

In addition to choosing town officials, China voters will be asked whether they want to approve a bond issue to fund new broadband infrastructure.