Primary Expected To Draw Few Voters

UPPER CAPE- Town clerks across the Upper Cape are predicting a light turnout for Tuesday’s primary election.
“It’s very unfortunate,” Deborah A. Dami, Mashpee’s town clerk said. “It’s unfortunate that so much attention has been put to the [Presidential] election…sometimes we lose sight that local and state elections have a greater impact on our lives.”
A lack of contested major races gives voters little reason to hit the polls. Michael C. Palmer, Falmouth’s town clerk, said that primary election activity tends to be very low in years when there is no gubernatorial race, as in 2004 when voter turnout was about eight percent. “I don’t want to see that again,” he said.
Mr. Palmer was hopeful his town might see more activity due to the heated Democratic primary race for State Representative Eric T. Turkington’s (D - Falmouth) legislative seat. Mr. Turkington is leaving the Legislature to run for Barnstable County Register of Probate, a decision prompted by the upcoming retirement of Frederic B. Claussen, who has held the register position since 1969.
“It’s not going to be a great turnout, but I hope to get 20 to 25 percent turnout” due to the open seat, Mr. Palmer said. “Plus we’ve got the county commissioners’ race, so that might generate some interest.”
Congressman William D. Delahunt, Senate President Therese Murray, State Senator Robert A. O’Leary (D - Falmouth), and State Representative Susan D. Williams Gifford (D - Falmouth) are all running unopposed, while State Representatives Matthew C. Patrick (D - Falmouth) and Jeffrey D. Perry (R - Sandwich) will not see competition until the general election.
The four Upper Cape candidates for the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates—Richard J. Anderson of Bourne, Julia K. Taylor of Falmouth, Marcia R. King of Mashpee, and Thomas F. Keyes of Sandwich—are all running unopposed in the general election.
Voters in all four Upper Cape towns will weigh in on US Senator John F. Kerry’s first-ever primary challenge since he was first elected, that challenge coming in the form of Gloucester Democrat Edward J. O’Reilly. Mr. O’Reilly is pushing his middle class background in his quest to unseat the four-term junior senator.
The winner of that race will go on to face Harwich Republican Jeffrey K. Beatty in November. Mr. Beatty last ran for office in 2006, challenging Mr. Delahunt.
The only statewide race on the primary ballot is between Carole A. Fiola, incumbent candidate for governor’s council of the first district, and Oliver P. Cipollini Jr. of Marstons Mills. The winner effectively has a free ride to the post, as there are no Republican or registered third party candidates.
Locally, there are two primary races at the county level, the most active of which is for two seats on the Barnstable County Board of County Commissioners. Lance W. Lambros is up for reelection, and Mary J. LeClair has opted to step down at the end of her current term.
In addition to Mr. Lambros, Thomas P. Bernardo of Centerville, Mary L. (Pat) Flynn of Falmouth, Sheila R. Lyons of Wellfleet, and J. Gregory Milne of Barnstable are running for the board. Mr. Bernardo is an aide to State Representative Demetrius J. Atsalis (D - Barnstable) and a former member of the Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates. Ms. Flynn is a Falmouth selectman and member of the Cape Cod Economic Development Council. Ms. Lyons is a first-term member of the Assembly. Mr. Milne is a Barnstable town councilor.
The top two candidates in the primary race will move on to the November ballot. Two Republican candidates, Ricardo M. Barros of Centerville and William B. (Brad) Crowell of Dennis, are automatically on the general election ballot, and the top two candidates among the final four will be elected to the board.
Mr. Barros, an attorney, ran in 2006 against Mr. O’Leary. Mr. Crowell is currently a member of the Cape Cod Commission.
The other county race is for the Republican nomination to the Barnstable County Register of Probate. Priscilla J. Young of Pocasset and Anastasia Welsh Perrino of Dennis, both former assistant judicial case managers, will compete for the right to take on Mr. Turkington and James A. Feeney of Harwich, an unenrolled candidate.
There are no formal third-party candidates for any local race.
Barnstable, Dukes, and Nantucket District
Voters in Precincts One, Two, Five, and Six in Falmouth, along with residents of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, will have one of this year’s busiest races to ponder as they hit the polls. Mr. Turkington’s decision not to run for reelection attracted a total field of seven would-be successors, four of whom are formally running in the primaries.
Attorney Daniel J. Larkosh of West Tisbury, businessman Timothy Lasker of Chilmark, David Moriarty of Falmouth, and Selectman Roger W. Wey of Oak Bluffs are on the primary ballot for the Democratic nomination.
Catherine O’Brien Bumpus of Falmouth, a former selectman, is also on the ballot but formally withdrew from the race in July.
Timothy R. Madden of Nantucket, the only candidate from that island, is running a write-in campaign for the Democratic nomination, but is formally on the November ballot as an unenrolled candidate. Mr. Madden said he missed the deadline for registering as a Democrat.
According to the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth - Elections Division, if Mr. Madden were to win the Democratic primary and formally accept the nomination, his name would appear on the November ballot only once, but would be listed as both a Democrat and an unenrolled candidate.
This also means the final list of candidates would be reduced to three; if Mr. Madden’s write-in bid fails, he would still be on the ballot along with the Democratic candidate and two other unenrolled candidates: Jacob Ferreira of Vineyard Haven and Melissa B. Freitag of Falmouth.
There are no Republican candidates for this seat.
Third Barnstable District
Voters in Bourne, Falmouth, and Mashpee have no primary legislative races to consider. Mr. Patrick, who is seeking his fifth term in office, will face unenrolled candidate Carey M. Murphy of East Falmouth, a member of the Falmouth Board of Selectmen. There is no Republican candidate.
The district includes Precincts Five and Six in Bourne; Precincts Three, Four, Seven, Eight, and Nine in Falmouth; and Precincts Two, Four, and Five in Mashpee.
Fifth Barnstable District
Mr. Perry will run for a fourth term in office against Democrat Glenn S. Paré of Sandwich, a businessman and member of the Sandwich Finance Committee. The district includes the entire town of Sandwich, as well as Precinct Four in Bourne and Precincts One and Three in Mashpee.
Polling Locations And Hours
Polls in all four towns will be open from 7 AM until 8 PM on Tuesday.
According to the four Upper Cape town clerk’s offices, a total of 62,940 adults are registered to vote in the primaries: 12,643 in Bourne, 25,411 in Falmouth, 9,636 in Mashpee, and 15,250 in Sandwich. First-time voters will be required to present proof of identity in the form of a valid photo ID when checking in.
Voters enrolled as a member of a recognized political party—Democrat, Republican, Green-Rainbow, or Working Families—will receive a ballot for their respective party, while unenrolled voters may choose a ballot for any one party. Unenrolled voters remain listed as unenrolled regardless of which ballot they select.
Voters whose names do not appear on the voter list may be re-directed to another precinct, if it is determined by the town clerk that the voter in question is at the wrong polling location, or may be issued a provisional ballot. Whether the voter is properly registered will be determined after the election, and all valid ballots will be counted.
Sandwich has four polling locations serving seven precincts: the Henry T. Wing School (Precincts One and Two); Sandwich High School (Three); Oak Ridge School (Four and Five); and the Forestdale School (Six and Seven). For more information contact the town clerk’s office at 508-888-0340.