Cheshire Sees Race for Selectman
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Voters will decide a two-way race for the Board of Selectmen this year, one of only two races on the town election ballot.
Edmund St. John IV and E. Richard Scholz will vie for a three-year seat being vacated by current Chairman Paul Astorino.
This will be Scholz's third attempt for the Board of Selectmen having first run against Astorino three years ago and losing narrowly last year to longtime incumbent Carol Francesconi. The retired electrical engineer has served on the Advisory Board.
St. John, town moderator, is also completing his first three-term as a Cheshire representative on the Adams-Cheshire Regional School Committee. This is the local attorney's first run for selectman.
Astorino is completing his fifth term on the board and said it was time to step back. "I've been here 15 years, it's enough for me," he said this week.
He'd first served a term back in the late 1970s and served two terms on the School Committee in the 1990s. He worked as a manager for General Dynamics and has served on the boards of the Adams Ambulance Service, Berkshire Community College Board of Trustees, Elder Services of Berkshire County and the Berkshire County Selectmen's Executive Committee.
"When I retired 15 years ago, I said, I've got time," Astorino said. "I've put my time in."
Adam Emerson is running unopposed for the three-year seat on the School Committee seat being vacated by St. John. Cheshire voters will also cast ballots in the race for the Adams representative on the committee between incumbent Regina Hill and newcomer Michael Mucci Jr.
All other seats are unopposed: assessor, three years, Laurie Charon; Board of Health, three years, Jeffrey Warner; Cemetery Commission, three years, Neil Baker; Water Commission, three years, Donald Rueger; Planning Board, five years, Francis Griswold; and Planning Board, three years, Donna Defino.
The last day to register to vote is Tuesday, April 11, between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the town clerk's office. The town election will be held on Monday, May 1, at the Senior Center.
Tags: election 2017, town elections,
