Election Day: What To Know

The Swampscott Tides has put together a guide to next week’s local election to help residents feel informed and ready to cast their ballots. From key dates and polling locations to what’s on the ballot, here’s what voters need to know ahead of Election Day.

When Is The Election?

Voting will take place on Tuesday, April 28 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Where Is The Election?

Swampscott has one polling location at the high school, at 200 Essex St.

Who Can Vote?

Any U.S. citizen, resident of Massachusetts that is over 18 years old and is not currently incarcerated is able to register to vote. Residents had to register to vote by Friday, April 17 to participate in Tuesday’s election.

Who Is Running?

Ryan Hale is running uncontested for town moderator.

George Allen is running uncontested for the one open three-year term Board of Health position.

Debbie Friedlander is running uncontested for a three-year term as the Trustee of the Public Library.

There are two open positions for a three-year School Committee term. Katherine Arrington and John Giantis are running uncontested. There is one open position to fulfill a two-year term. Martha Driscoll Cesarz is running uncontested.

There are two open positions for three-year Select Board terms. In alphabetical order, those running are:

Edward Dooley
Wayne Godfrey
Charles Patsios
Wayne Spritz

There is one open position for both the Board of Assessors and Planning Board respectively, but no one is running for them.

Town Meeting members serve staggered three-year terms, leaving 108 seats up for election each year.

For the first precinct, In alphabetical order, those running are:

Jorge Briones Jr.
Ronald Burgess
Michael Contreras
Ralph Edwards
William Hancox
Cynthia Hellmann-Flatt
Colin Loggins
Reggie Pagan
David Pitcher
Michael Serino
Susan Tweed

For the second precinct, In alphabetical order, those running are:

Jaime Bloch
Susan Buonopane
James Cassetta
Eden Clark
Jennifer Galacar
Susan Gambale
Amanda Geil
Shauna Guidici
Virginia LeBlanc
Donna McHugh
Terri Morgen
Geralyn Stephan
Natalie Swanstrom
Christian Urbano
Frances Weiner

For the third precinct, In alphabetical order, those running are:

Caitlin Bova
Constance Carman
Martha Curry
Charlotte Daher
Marsha Dalton
Susan Diehl
Kraig Hitchcock
Loring Lincoln Jr.
Edward Mulvey
Catherine Phelan
Sydney Pierce
Gail Rosenberg
Jacqueline Ruckel
Shayne Spaulding
Wayne Spritz
Rebecca White
Catherine Wilson

For the fourth precinct, In alphabetical order, those running are:

George Allen
Michael Brison
Gary Callahan
Lisa Carangelo
Torey Cummings
Justin Eppley
John Giantis
Wayne Godfrey
Michelle Gosselin
Merle Hyman
Laurie Lebbon
Tania Lillak
Michael Paquette
Albert Pica IV
Maura Pilotte
William Quinn
Leonard Russo
Joe Roman
Robert Scheier
Martha Schmitt
Lauren Shrestha
Bidesh Shrestha
Andrew Willison

For the fifth precinct, In alphabetical order, those running are:

Deborah Caniff
Diana Caplan
Martha Cesarz
Edward Dooley
Nicole Dooley
Amy Kyle
Brian Longin
Stefanie Neumann
Gregory Racki
Adrian Rodriguez
Alfred Rose
Leonard Rotman
Shelley Sackett
Joseph Simons
Lynette Simons
James Smith
Andrew Whitman
Karen Whitman

For the sixth precinct, In alphabetical order, those running are:

Barrie Atkin
Lawrence Block
Damon Demady
Debbie Friedlaner
Kelsey Henry
Trevor Henry
Lisa Hickey
Jonathan Leamon
Bonnie Levine
Robert Levine
Victoria Maher
Jill Simmons-Wetmore
Alison Stewart
Rachel Taradash
Helen Tieger
Jeffrey Wilson
David Zucker

What Happens With the Vacancies?

Residents can run write-in campaigns. Write-in candidates must receive at least 10 votes to qualify, according to Assistant Town Clerk Michael Brison.

If no one is elected, the seat will remain vacant. According to Massachusetts General Law, the Select Board “shall in writing appoint a person to fill such vacancy.”

What Do The People Running Have To Say?

The Swampscott Tides did Q&As with each candidate this election.

Read the responses from those running for:

All candidates were also given the opportunity to record videos with the Swampscott Tides and Big Blue News.

Watch the videos for:

What Happened To The Incumbents That Aren’t Running?

Select Board Members Doug Thompson and David Grishman, Town Moderator Michael McClung and School Committee Member Suzanne Wright are not running for re-election.

They pointed to timing and a desire to make room for new leadership.

“It’s time for the people who are as old as I was when I got involved to carry the torch,” McClung said. “This next generation of folks in Swampscott, it’s time for them to take their turn at bat and decide what they want the place to be.”

What Positions Are Contested?

The only contested race this election is Select Board. There are four people running and two open positions.

The Swampscott Tides wrote about one event per candidate.

Read about:

What Happened At The Debate?

The four candidates competing for two open seats on the Swampscott Select Board participated in a debate hosted by the Swampscott Tides.

The questions – submitted by the Swampscott Tides and its readers – focused on issues such as the town budget, future planning, candidate priorities, and the dynamics of the Select Board. Several candidates noted that they had agreed beforehand to keep the discussion respectful and positive.

When discussing ways to manage the tax burden, candidates highlighted economic growth. Dooley proposed forming an economic development committee, while Spritz stressed that any development must be approached carefully given the town’s limited available land. Patsios raised concerns about the lack of a full-time assessor, along with ongoing infrastructure and water and sewer issues.

“We need to increase our housing stock as well as our commercial base in order to bring an influx of new cash into town,” said Godfrey.

Asked to reflect on a recent misstep by the Select Board, several candidates cited the handling of the Hawthorne-by-the-Sea property, noting the absence of a clear plan for its use.

Candidates also agreed that avoiding a Proposition 2½ override in the near future is possible but only if meaningful progress is made.

The full debate is available on the Town of Swampscott Youtube channel.

The Lynn Item also held a debate, during which candidates were asked a few questions from the Swampscott Tides and residents. All four Select Board candidates said they would prioritize developing a clear plan for the Hawthorne-by-the-Sea property, especially when other developments in town seem to have a direct path forward.

Why Does It Matter If I Vote?

Local elections might not grab headlines the way national races do, but they shape the parts of daily life people feel most directly. Decisions about public schools, policing, housing, transportation, and local taxes are often made by the people voters are choosing to represent them.

Local elections determine how communities function day to day.

“People don’t realize how important local elections are,” said Lauren Shrestha, who served on the Town Election Review Committee. “Local elections are what helps decide things in your everyday life, and they often are the most impactful to your everyday life.”

What Was The Voter Turn Out Like Before?

The National Civic League notes that local election turnout is often less representative of a community’s income, age, and ethnicity, with turnout among affluent voters 30 to 55% higher than among low-income voters.

“The overall impact is that local elected officials and policy are disproportionately influenced by older affluent white voters, undermining our representative democracy and the effectiveness of local governments,” National Civic League writes. “Recent research found that less representative elections contribute to poorer outcomes for minorities, including uneven prioritization of public spending.”

In Swampscott, voters under 30 have the lowest turnout, while those over 65 vote most often.

The Town Election Review Committee has suggested that residents in Swampscott may have skipped voting in the past due to a lack of information about candidates and issues. Chair Marta Sirota and Vice Chair Shayne Spaulding presented data from a townwide survey to the Select Board that showed 38.2% of registered voters in Swampscott said they didn’t vote because they did not have enough information about the candidates or the issues. An additional 26.4% said they were too busy, while 15.5% even admitted to not knowing there was an election.

Less common reasons not to vote were not being interested in politics (8.2%), not feeling like their vote made a difference, difficulty in accessing child care (4.5%) and that it was difficult to find out when the election was.

In Swampscott’s April town election last year, just over 16% of registered voters cast ballots. In 2024, the number was higher, at 23.85%, the highest percentage of registered voters electing local officials since 2019, according to election data.

Within the specific neighborhoods, Precinct 4 has consistently outperformed other areas in the percentage of registered voters going to the polls, at 22.23% average annual turnout since 2016. Precinct 1 has seen the lowest average voter turnout since 2016 at 11.99% on average annually, according to available data. The other precincts, however, tend closer to Precinct 1 than 4 (2 at 14.65%, 3 at 15.86%, 5 at 16.53% and 6 at 18.51%).