Guide to Offices and Questions on the November 2006 Ballot
The November 7 ballot will contain the following offices and questions
Please note it is a two sided ballot.
Senator in Congress –
This is a statewide office, the candidate will be elected for a six year term. The incumbent is Democrat, Edward M. Kennedy and the opponent is Republican Kenneth G. Chase.
Governor and Lieutenant Governor –
Statewide constitutional officers, elected for four year term.
Kerry Healey and Reed Hillman appear as HEALEY and HILLMAN, Republican
Deval Patrick and Tim Murray appear as PATRICK and MURRAY, Democrat
Christy Mihos and John Sullivan appear as MIHOS and SULLIVAN, Independent
Grace Ross and Martina Robinson appear as ROSS and ROBINSON, Green-Rainbow
Attorney General
Statewide Constitutional officer, elected for a four year term.
Martha Coakley, Democrat
Larry Frisoli, Republican
Secretary of State
Statewide Constitutional officer, elected for a four year term.
Incumbent William Galvin, Democrat, opposed by Jill E. Stein, Green-Rainbow
Treasurer
Statewide Constitutional officer, elected for a four year term.
Incumbent Timothy P. Cahill, Democrat, opposed by James O’Keefe, Green-Rainbow
Auditor
Statewide Constitutional officer, elected for a four year term.
Incumbent A. Joseph DeNucci, Democrat, opposed by Rand Wilson, Working Families
Representative in Congress-
Wellesley is in the Fourth Congressional District for Massachusetts. A Representative is elected for two year term.
Incumbent Democrat Barney Frank of Newton is unopposed on the ballot.
Councillor –
The Massachusetts Governor's Council, also known as the Executive Council, is composed of eight individuals elected from districts statewide, and the Lt. Governor who serves ex officio. The eight councillors are elected from their respective districts every two years.
The Council generally meets to act on such issues as payments from the state treasury, criminal pardons and commutations, and approval of gubernatorial appointments; such as judges, notaries and justices of the peace.
Wellesley is divided into two councilor districts. Precincts B, F, and G are in the Second Councillor District. The Incumbent is Democrat Kelly A. Timilty of Boston, opposed by Michael W. McCue of Mansfield, Republican.
Precincts A, C, D, and E are in the Third Councillor District and are represented by Democrat Marilyn Petitto Devaney of Watertown. She is unopposed.
Senator in General Court
State Senator, elected for two year term/
Wellesley is divided into two Senate districts.
Precincts B, F, and G are in the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex district. Incumbent Republican Scott P. Brown of Wrentham is unopposed on the ballot.
Precincts A, C, D, and E are in the First Middlesex and Norfolk district. Incumbent Democrat Cynthia Creem of Newton is unopposed on the ballot.
Representative in General Court-
State Representative- elected for two year term.
Wellesley is in the 14th Norfolk District along with Weston and parts of Natick. The Incumbent Democrat Alice Hanlon Peisch of Wellesley is unopposed on the ballot.
District Attorney- Norfolk District
The District attorney is the chief law enforcement officer for the Norfolk District. This office is responsible for the prosecution of criminal offenses that occur within the District. These cases involve homicide, sexual assault, domestic violence, robbery, drug sales and possession, fraud, theft, driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs, and many other offenses. The District attorney is elected for a four year term.
Incumbent William R. Keating, Democrat, is unopposed on the ballot.
Clerk of Courts Norfolk County
The Clerk of Court is the administrative officer who runs the daily functions of the court and assists the public in certain filings and the scheduling matters before the court. The Clerk is responsible for maintaining the records of the court for his jurisdiction. The Clerk is elected to a four year term.
Incumbent Walter F. Timilty, Jr., Democrat is unopposed on the ballot.
Register of Deeds- Norfolk County
The Registry of Deeds is a county office operated under the supervision of the Register of Deeds, who is an elected county official. By virtue of his office, the Register of Deeds is also an Assistant Recorder of the Massachusetts Land Court. All transactions recorded in the land court section of the Registry deal with registered land, the title to which is insured by the Commonwealth. The Registry for Norfolk County is located in Dedham. The registry maintains all records related to the ownership of property in the county. The usual term of office for the register is 6 years.
Incumbent William P. O’Donnell of Norwood, Democrat, is unopposed on the ballot.
County Commissioner – Norfolk County
The executive authority of Norfolk County is vested in County Commissioners. The three Commissioners are elected for a four-year term with only one permitted from any one city or town. County revenues are derived from the Registry of Deeds, a tax on the cities and towns of Norfolk County based on their land values, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and various grants.
Norfolk County presently provides the following services and governmental functions:
o Superior, Probate and Trial Courthouses
o Norfolk County Agricultural High School
o Some Statutory Jurisdiction over Roads
o Wollaston Recreational Facility
o Registry of Deeds
o Sheriff's Department
o Engineering Services for Communities
o Appellate Tax Jurisdiction
o Human Services
o Land Conservation & Open Space Management
Incumbent Peter Collins of Milton, Democrat is opposed by Thomas E. Gorman of Dedham, Republican.
BALLOT QUESTIONS -
Question 1 Law Proposed by Initiative Petition - Sale of Wine by Food Stores
This law would allow local licensing authorities to issue licenses for food store to sell wine.
A YES VOTE will create a new category of licenses, subject to local approval.
A NO VOTE will make no change in the existing law.
See Secretary of State Voter information booklet for complete explanation.
Question 2 – Law proposed by Inititive petition- Nomination of Candidates for Public Office.
The proposed law would allow candidates for public office to be nominated by more than one party or political designation, to have their names appear on the ballot once for each nomination and to have those votes tabulated separately for each nomination, but combined to determine the winner of the election.
A YES VOTE, will allow multiple nominations for a single candidate.
A NO VOTE, will make no change in existing law.
See Secretary of State Voter information booklet for complete explanation.
Question 3 – Law Proposed by Initiative petition – Family Child Care Providers.
The proposed law would allow licensed and other authorized providers of child care in private homes to bargain collectively with state agencies about the terms and conditions of the provision of Child care services under the state’s child care assistance program (state-subsidized child care). The current practice is that individual home-based care givers negotiate the terms and conditions of care on a case by case basis.
A YES VOTE will allow such providers to bargain collectively with the state.
A NO Vote will make no change is existing law.
See Secretary of State Voter information booklet for complete explanation.
There are no local ballot questions on the Wellesley ballot.
The non-binding ballot question relative to the Iraq war was not certified for the Town of Wellesley and will not appear on the ballot here.
Prepared by
Kathleen Nagle
Town Clerk Wellesley
Source documents: Secretary of State, Official Massachusetts Information for Voters
And Web sites for County of Norfolk, Massachusetts State Courts, Norfolk District Attorney office
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