No Contested Races In Orleans Spring Election

ORLEANS – There will be no contested races in this spring’s annual town election.

 Candidates for re-election and challengers to seats on the select board, board of health, Orleans Elementary School committee, Nauset regional school committee, Orleans Housing Authority, Snow Library board of trustees and town constable had until the end of day Tuesday to return their signed nomination papers to appear on the ballot for the May 19 election.

 Mefford Runyon will seek re-election to a fourth term on the select board, while Mary Wright has also returned papers to seek one of the two three-year seats on the board. Incumbent select board member Andrea Reed is not seeking a third term.

 Sassandra Roche has returned papers for re-election to the Orleans Elementary School committee, of which she is the current chair. Ron Collins has also taken out and returned papers for one of the two three-years seats on the committee. Judith Schumacher will seek re-election to her three-year seat on the Nauset regional school committee.

 On the board of health, both John Kanaga and Sims McGrath will seek re-election to new three year terms. 

Lindsey Goodman will seek re-election to the Snow Library board of trustees. She’ll be joined by challenger Nora Johnsmeyer, who has also returned papers for one the two three-year seats on the board.

Kevin Higgins will seek re-election to a three-year post as town constable. No one had taken out or returned papers for a two-year constable term. Similarly, no one took out papers for a five-year term on the Orleans Housing Authority.

Candidates now have until April 16 to withdraw their names from consideration on the election ballot. 

The select board on April 1 was scheduled to vote to set polling hours for the May 19 election from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Orleans Senior Center on Rock Harbor Road. 

In a memo to the select board included in the packet for the board’s April 1 meeting, Town Clerk Kelly Darling said that postcards are being mailed out to residents interested in voting by mail for the spring election. The board of registrars has also voted to hold early in-person voting at town hall on May 4 and 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., she said.

Note: This story was updated after The Chronicle's Tuesday deadline to reflect that Sims McGrath returned his signed papers to seek re-election to the board of health.