China nomination papers available for November election

by Mary Grow

China’s municipal elections for members of the select board, planning board and budget committee will be held Tuesday, Nov. 7. Nomination papers are now available at the town office; Friday, Sept. 8, is the deadline for returning signed papers to be on the local ballot.

Select board members are elected from the town at large. Some positions on the planning board and budget committee are filled by district. A map of China’s four districts is on the website china.govoffice.com, under the Planning Board subheading under the main heading Officials, Boards & Committees.

Positions to be filled this year are:

• On the select board, two seats. Members whose terms end this year are board chairman Wayne Chadwick and Jeanne Marquis.
• On the planning board, three seats: District One (northwestern China; Michael Brown is the incumbent); District Three (southeastern China; the incumbent, Walter Bennett, resigned this month and will not seek re-election); and alternate at large, elected from anywhere in town (Natale Tripodi is the incumbent).
• On the budget committee, three seats: District One (northwestern China; Kevin Maroon is the incumbent); District Three (southeastern China; Michael Sullivan is the incumbent); and the chairman, elected from anywhere in town (Thomas Rumpf is the incumbent).

In addition to the positions for which candidates are needed for the Nov. 7 election, town officials are looking for volunteers to be appointed to fill vacant positions on the planning board and budget committee.

The District Four (southwestern China) planning board position has been vacant all year; an appointee would serve until the November 2024 local election. Because of Bennett’s resignation, the District Three seat is empty; that appointee’s term would run until Nov. 7, and he or she could run for election to a full two-year term, until November 2025.

Budget committee secretary Trishea Story resigned after this spring’s pre-town meeting deliberations. This position can be filled by a resident of any part of the town; an appointee would be expected to serve until the November 2024 election.