Town Election Guide - Marblehead Current

15 Jun

EDITORIAL: Election reflections

Marblehead Current Editorial BoardCurrent Editorials, Opinion, Town Election Guide

On June 9, almost half of the town’s registered voters turned out to vote candidates for public office and to vote on the four override questions. This was the largest turnout for the annual town elections in over 20 years. It is clear that the override questions were the driving force for so many voters casting their ballots. The overrides Leading up to last week’s election, passions ran high on whether and to what degree to support a general override to address the level of…

09 Jun

BREAKING NEWS: Marblehead approves $15 million override, plus $2.3 trash tax hike

Leigh Blander Kris OlsonLocal News, Municipal Matters, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

Marblehead voters came out in record numbers this Election Day approving a $15 million, three-year override that permanently raises property taxes and reshapes the town's fiscal future. Check out the Current's vote tracker for all the results. The override will restore deep program and staffing cuts in the fiscal 2027 budget. It also builds programs and invests in future capital projects. Tier/Question 3 was the highest passing tier, with 54% of people supporting it. After the vote, Select Board Chair Dan Fox addressed people who…

09 Jun

Marblehead polls close at 8 p.m.; With a few hours to go about 33% of voters had shown up

Leigh BlanderPolitics, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

At about 4:45 p.m. Tuesday, approximately 5,700 Marblehead residents had cast votes in today's election that will decide an historic, three-tiered property tax override, as well as races for School Committee, Select Board and more. Compare that to the total turnout in last year's municipal election — 6,621. In other words, with three hours left to vote, Marblehead had already approached the total turnout seen in the entire 2025 election. The Current checked with wardens in each district, tallying the number of votes so far…

09 Jun

This Election Day, Marblehead voters deciding override, races

Leigh BlanderMunicipal Matters, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

Turnout appears brisk at Abbot Hall and the MHS field house this Election Day. Here's a sampling of supporters outside both polling places. CURRENT PHOTOS / LEIGH BLANDER Voters are deciding one of the town's most consequential financial decisions in decades: whether to approve a three-tiered tax override that would permanently increase property taxes and reshape the town's fiscal future. In addition to the override question — presented in $9 million, $12 million and $15 million options — voters will weigh in on several local…

05 Jun

Swimming in numbers: A user’s guide to the four override calculators

Leigh Blander Kris OlsonMunicipal Matters, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

Residents may have noticed that if you use the various override calculators to calculate the tax impact of the upcoming override vote, you get different answers. To help explain why that is, we ran the home value of a $1 million property through each calculator and spoke with the creators of the calculators to clarify deviations in the results. To try to keep the comparisons “apples to apples,” we are focusing on what the calculators are saying are the increases attributable to the overrides and…

04 Jun

Early in-person voting ends with long lines; Election Day is Tuesday

Leigh BlanderPolitics, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

As Marblehead decides a historic, tiered override that would hike taxes permanently, voters took advantage of three days of in-person, early voting at Abbot Hall. The line stretched through the building on just before the polls (inside the Town Clerk's Office) closed. Up next: Election Day on June 9, when residents may cast their votes 7 a.m.-8 p.m. at either Abbot Hall or the high school field house, depending on what precinct they live in. You can find your precinct at WhereDoIVoteMA.com. Voters stand in…

01 Jun

Signs point to… not the whole story

Kris OlsonMunicipal Matters, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

By now, you likely have seen them on lawns throughout town: the anti-override group Better Way Marblehead’s signs, which read “$7,500+ Per Home Every 3 Years, Forever!” Some residents may have wondered, “Is that true?” Here’s our assessment. WHAT THE SIGN GETS RIGHT: The overrides the town will be voting on June 9 are, in fact, “forever.” They are general overrides that remain part of the tax rate rather than exclusions that drop off the tax levy when the bonds issued to finance a particular…

27 May

Overrides, trust and town’s path forward debated at candidates forum

Leigh BlanderMunicipal Matters, Politics, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

As the town faces four general override questions that would permanently increase property taxes, candidates for multiple boards and committees made their pitches at the Marblehead League of Women Voters candidates forum Tuesday night. The election is June 9. About 100 people crowded into the high school library to listen to candidates for Select Board, School Committee, Recreation & Parks Commission, Cemetery Commission, Housing Authority and town moderator. Select Board Incumbent Erin Noonan defended her role in crafting the town’s tiered override proposal (for $9…

26 May

League of Women Voters to host Candidates Night

Leigh BlanderPolitics, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

Yhe League of Women Voters will host its Candidates Night on Tuesday, May 26, at 7 p.m. in the high school library. Residents may arrive at 6:30 p.m. to meet and speak with candidates. Elizabeth Foster-Nolan, president of the Massachusetts League of Women Voters, will moderate. The forum will feature candidates in the following races: Select Board:Incumbent Erin Noonan and challengers Rossana Ferrante and Jenn Schaeffner are vying for two seats. School Committee:Incumbent Melissa Clucas and challengers Sarah Fox and Ann-Marie Jordan are vying for…

22 May

New group urges rejection of non-trash override questions, calls for special Town Meeting

Leigh BlanderMunicipal Matters, Top Stories, Town Election Guide

A group calling itself “Better Way Marblehead” is urging voters to reject override questions 1, 2 and 3 (for $9 million, $12 million and $15 million respectively) at the ballot box on June 9 and to support Question 4, the town’s $2.3 million trash override. The group is also calling for a special town meeting. Resident John DiPiano, who led the campaign against MBTA Communities Law compliance in town, is the spokesperson for Better Way Marblehead. The Town Clerk's Office now says the group filed…