Photo: Mark Paolillo.

One week after the official start of the 2016 Town Election contest, there has been a steady stream of residents who have picked up nomination papers to begin their efforts to be elected town-wide or to Town Meeting.

Town Election will take place on April 5, 2016. 

On the town-wide front, it comes as no surprise that two-term incumbent Selectman Mark Paolillo has taken out papers. The long-time Pilgrim Road resident indicated in the fall his intentions to run one final time to the three-person board. 

Joining Paolillo as early birds grabbing their papers in the first week are Mark Carthy seeking re-election to the Board of Library Trustees, Ellen Cushman for Town Clerk and Charles R. Laverty III who raced into the Town Clerk’s Office last Monday to get the process started for his return to the Board of Assessors.

Cushman, who is Belmont’s current Town Clerk, said there has been good interest in becoming and retaining their seats as Town Meeting members, with some already completing the task of returning their nomination sheets with the necessary number of signatures.

More activity is expected as letters from the Clerk’s Office will go out this week to Town Meeting members whose terms expire in 2016 asking if they want to be considered a candidate for re-election. Those letters must be returned to the Clerk’s office by 5 p.m. on Jan. 26 to exempt the incumbent members from collecting signatures. 

Those seeking to be new Town Meeting members or those selected at a precinct caucus must collect 25 signatures from residents in the precinct being represented and submit the papers back to the Clerk’s office no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2016.

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