About the
Wrentham Voter Guide
Local elections, those that matter most, exert direct effects on our day-to-day lives because local officials’ decisions affect our schools, roads, public safety, and local businesses. Your votes in local elections give you a say in who makes decisions that affect you and let your voice be heard.
The Wrentham Voter Guide (WVG) is designed to help you, as a voter, make informed decisions because lack of information about candidates and the positions they hope to fill are among the primary reasons that voters do not turn out at local elections.
We reached out to every candidate who filed to run as a candidate and to those we learned are "write-in" candidates for the April 3rd, 2023 election, and requested the following information:
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1 - 2 sentence statement about why he or she is running for office
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100 – 150-word bio
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Photo
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Website, social media channels and LinkedIn profile if available
Most candidates responded to our inquiries, which enabled us to share the information they provided.
We hope that this information, available in PDF format and on the Web can help you to make informed votes and hope that you will share it with your friends and neighbors and encourage them to vote.
Your vote makes a difference because it puts you, the voter, in the driver’s seat.
Wrentham Voter Guide (PDF format)
Questions: wrenthamvoterguide@gmail.com
Annual Town Election
Wrentham's Annual Town Election will be held on Monday, April 3, 2023 at the Delaney Elementary School, 120 Taunton Street.
Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Voter registration is open now and the last day to register to vote will be on Friday, March 24, 2023 in the lobby of Town Hall from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. As Town Hall is closed to the public on Fridays, residents should come to the main door and someone will assist you (on TD Bank side of the building).
Open Seats
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Select Board - 3-year term - 1 position open
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Wrentham Elementary School Committee - 3-year term - 2 positions open
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King Philip Regional School Committee - 3-year term - 1 position open
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Planning Board - 3-years term - 2 positions open
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Board of Health - 3-year term - 1 position open
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Fiske Library Board of Trustees - 3-year terms - 2 positions open
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Moderator - 1-year term - 1 position open
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Board of Assessors - 3-year term - 1 position open
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Constable - 2-year term - 1 position open
Cable 8 Candidates Forum
Complete Cable 8 Candidates Forum 2023
Individual candidate clips are on the candidates' pages. Note that not all candidates elected to participate in the Cable 8 Candidates Forum.
Select Board
3-year term - 1 position open, 2 candidates
Wrentham is governed by a five member Select Board; members are elected for 3-year staggered terms.
The Select Board are the town's Chief Elected Officials. They have general supervision over all matters not specifically delegated by law or vote of the Town Meeting to another officer or board. The Select Board is responsible for hiring and supervising Town Administrator; setting policy and goals for the town, which are then implemented by the town administrator and other town officials; collective bargaining, serving as a licensing authority; and appointing community members to boards and committees.
Candidates:
Chris Doherty (candidate did not provide a response)
Wrentham Elementary
School Committee
3-year term - 2 positions open, 3 candidates
Wrentham Elementary School Committee consists of five members; members are elected for 3-year staggered terms.
The school committee has the power to select and to terminate the superintendent; is responsible for reviewing and approving budgets for public education in the district; overseeing capital projects such as the construction or renovation of school buildings; and establishing educational goals and policies for the schools in the district that are consistent with statewide goals and standards established by the board of education.
Candidates:
Veronica Gonzalez (incumbent & current chair)
King Philip Regional
School Committee
3-year term - 1 position open, 2 candidates
KP Regional School Committee consists of nine members, three members from each town. The third member for each community is a member of the elementary school committee and is elected by the elementary school committee to a one-year term; they serve on both committees for that year.
The KP Regional School Committee is responsible for overseeing the operation of public schools within a regional school district and is comprised of elected representatives from each member town. Specific duties include: developing and approving policies; hiring and supervising the superintendent; developing and approving the budget for the district; negotiating contracts with teachers and staff members; overseeing capital projects such as the construction or renovation of school buildings; monitoring student achievement and taking steps to improve student outcomes; and communicating the performance of the schools within the district to the community.
Candidates:
Trevor Knott (incumbent & current chair)
Planning Board
3-year term - 2 positions open, 2 candidates
Wrentham's Planning Board consists of seven members; members are elected for 3-year staggered terms.
Wrentham's Planning Board is responsible for managing the growth and development of the town through the implementation of the Wrentham Zoning Bylaws. Some of the specific responsibilities of the Planning Board include: reviewing and approving subdivision plans; reviewing and making recommendations on zoning bylaw amendments; issuing special permits for certain land use projects; site plan review; long-range planning, and public outreach.
Candidates:
Charles "Chuck" Woodhams (incumbent)
Rob English (write-in candidate)
Board of Health
3-year term - 1 position open, 2 candidates
Wrentham's Board of Health consists of three members; members are elected for 3-year staggered terms.
The Board of Health (BoH) has a number of responsibilities related to protecting and promoting public health in town. In Wrentham, the BoH is responsible for "...protecting groundwater from contamination, protecting private and public water supplies, ... enforcing DEP regulations on the disposal of wastewater (Title 5), enforcing EPA/DEP regulations on preventing pollution from air, water, solid waste and toxic wastes, enforcing regulations to control noise pollution and so on" (Board of Health, Town of Wrentham).
Additional duties may include:
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Inspecting food service establishments;
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Investigating public health complaints;
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Promoting public health education;
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Monitoring communicable diseases.
Candidates:
George Smith (incumbent & current chair)
Fiske Library Board of Trustees
3-year term - 2 positions open, 2 candidates
The Fiske Library Board of Trustees consists of six members, each elected for 3-year staggered terms.
The Trustees have custody of, and manage, the library and all property of the town related to the library. All funds and property that the town may receive by gift or bequest for library support or maintenance is administered by the Board in accordance with the gift or bequest. The Board of Trustees, subject to terms of the town charter, has all the other powers and duties given to the boards of library trustees under the constitution and laws and other powers authorized by the Town Charter, by-law, or other town meeting vote.
Candidates:
Honora Rainville (incumbent)
Dyan Rook (incumbent)
Town Moderator
1-year term - 1 position open, 1 candidate
The Town Moderator is an elected position and is subject to re-election every year.
The principal duties of the Moderator are to run Town Meeting and to appoint the Finance Committee.
Specifically, the Town Moderator presides over town meetings and ensures that they are conducted in an orderly manner, determines the outcomes of votes taken at the meeting and announces the results, certifies the results of the meeting and submits them to the town clerk, appoints election officers for town elections, and appoints members of the Finance Committee. The town moderator is critical to ensuring that town meetings are conducted in a fair and orderly manner.
Candidates:
Board of Assessors
3-year term - 1 position open, 0 candidates
The Board of Assessors consists of three members, each elected for 3-year staggered terms.
The Board of Assessors is responsible for assessing the value of all real and personal property within the Town of Wrentham. The Board of Assessors works to ensure that property is assessed at fair market value, and that taxes are levied uniformly and equitably. "The Assessor's responsibilities include the ongoing updating of our detailed parcel database via cyclical permit and sales inspections, processing motor vehicle excise tax abatements, personal exemptions, property abatements, chapter land, preparing abutters lists, name and address changes, updating parcel maps and GIS systems on a yearly basis, providing a public access terminal and providing parcel data to those who inquire" (Board of Assessors, Town of Wrentham).
Candidates:
Constable
2-year term - 1 position open, 1 candidate
The Office of the Constable consists of three members, each elected for 2-year staggered terms.
The Office of the Constable is a law enforcement position with specific duties and responsibilities. Responsibilities include serving civil and criminal processes, such as summonses, subpoenas, and warrants; executing writs of attachment; enforcing local bylaws. The constables also "serve all warrants and other processes directed to them by the board of selectmen for notifying of town meetings or for other purposes" (Chapter 116, An Act Establishing a Charter for the Town of Wrentham).
Candidates:
Peter Tullock (write-in candidate)
About Write-In Candidates
A write-in candidate is not listed on the official ballot but asks voters to write their full name and address in the blank space provided for a particular office. Voters must physically write the name of the candidate and his or her address on the ballot rather than selecting a pre-printed name. Often, candidates will provide stickers with their names and addresses for voters to apply to a ballot.
A candidate who chooses to run for office as a write-in or sticker candidate should alert the town clerk in writing of his or her intent.
According to the Massachusetts' Secretary of State guide "How to run as a Write-In Candidate" "...if a voter misspells [the candidate's] name or address, the vote can still be counted, as long as the election worker can figure out the voter's intent" (How to Run as a Write-In Candidate, Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts).
A write-in or sticker candidate must receive the highest number of votes in a contested or uncontested race to win the seat.