Posts Tagged ‘elections’
The Simple Art of Voting
Every time there’s a low-turnout local election or Town Meeting (or both, as we recently had in Wakefield) talk inevitably turns to ways to improve voter turnout and participation. On the surface, it seems like a noble idea. “How can we make voting easier?” people wonder, as if voting were a task akin to climbing […]
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Tags: apathy, elections, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Politics, Town Meeting, vote, voting, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA
What, me vote?
The 2014 Massachusetts State Primary Election was Tuesday, September 9 and if you are one of the 20 percent of registered voters who cast a ballot, congratulations. You are in an elite group. One week before the Primary, on Sept. 2, the Boston Globe surveyed 605 voters to see how many were paying attention. The […]
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Tags: absentee ballot, apathy, Boston Globe, early voting, election reform, elections, low-information voter, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, Politics, primary election, Same Day registration, summer, turnout, Voter ID, Wakefield Daily Item
Voting Made Easy
Whenever the government says it is taking steps to make life easier for me, my BS detector goes off. The latest example is the Massachusetts Legislature’s effort to “reform” elections and voting. The House and Senate bills are currently in conference committee where they are negotiating a version that both branches can agree upon. The […]
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Tags: ballot, early voting, elections, MA, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, polls, reform, registration, vote, voter, voting, Wakefield Daily Item
Pot Law Takes a Hit
When the Board of Selectmen last week moved to use zoning to nip in the bud any chance of a medical marijuana dispensary opening in Wakefield Massachusetts, they were not alone. Many Massachusetts cities and towns have put in motion measures to stem the possibility of a pot store opening in their communities. This widespread […]
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Tags: Ballot Questions, cannabis, Daily Item, election, elections, herb, marihuana, marijuana, Mark Sardella, Massachusetts, medical marijuana, pot, vote, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts, weed
Extreme Moderates
“Why are there no moderate Republicans?” That’s the lament we hear with increasing frequency from some quarters as the fall election season heats up. Meanwhile, many of the same people who decry this supposed lack of moderation are working overtime to paint a couple of true moderates as “extreme.” Last year, Congressional Quarterly ranked Scott […]
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Tags: Congress, Democrats, election, elections, John Tierney, Mark Sardella, moderate, moderates, Politics, Republican, Republicans, Richard Tisei, Scott Brown, Senate, Senator Scott Brown, Twitter, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Keep Neighborhood Polling Places
Largely ignored in all the excitement over the margin of victory in the June 9 Special Election was the fact that the decision to build a new Galvin Middle School was made by a minority of the town’s voters. Less than one-third of those eligible weighed in with a vote. If you count only the […]
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Tags: Daily Item, election, elections, Galvin, Galvin Middle School, Galvinize, Galvinize Wakefield, Mark Sardella, polling places, Proposition 2 1/2, school, schools, tax, taxes, vote, voters, votes, voting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Massachusetts
Catering to Apathy
Note to 89 percent of the registered voters in Wakefield, Massachusetts: There was a Town Election on April 26, 2011. Sorry you couldn’t make it. Two selectmen, two School Committee Members and an Assessor were elected. And those were just the contested races. It’s been noted that the 2011 Wakefield Town Election may have seen […]
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Tags: apathy, campaign, campaigns, candidate, candidates, Daily Item, election, elections, Item, voter, voter apathy, voter turnout, voters, voting, Wakefield, Wakefield Daily Item, Wakefield Item, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass, Wakefield Massachusetts
Two Partings, One Huge Loss
When all was said and done after this long campaign season, Tuesday’s election directly impacted Wakefield, Massachusetts in a couple of key ways. Two of Wakefield’s longtime representatives in the state legislature will no longer be there. Running for Lt. Governor as Charlie Baker’s running mate, Wakefield’s Sen. Richard Tisei suffered the first loss of […]
Filed under: Columns & Essays, Opinion, Politics, Wakefield | 1 Comment
Tags: Charlei Baker, Donald Wong, election, elections, Mark Falzone, Massachusetts, Politics, Richard Tisei, Saugus, Scott Brown, State House, state representative, State Senator, Wakefield, Wakefield MA, Wakefield Mass
Mark Sardella 