Nomination Period Nears End for Selectmen Election

Unless something unusual happens Monday, two names will appear on the Sept. 24 ballot in the election to determine who will fill the Seekonk Board of Selectmen seat vacated in June by Bill Rice. Nelson Almeida and Paul Buckley are official candidates. The deadline to enter the race is Monday at 5 p.m.

Buckley serves on the town's Board of Assessors  and is the chair of the Seekonk Republican Committee. He previously served on the Personnel Board. Almeida is a member of the Parks & Recreation Committee.

Both candidates previously ran for the Board of Selectmen. Almeida placed third of five . Buckley placed fifth of six in a race for two seats 10 years ago.

Local cable talk show host Jeffrey Starr Mararian has said he wants to run as a write-in candidate. It is not impossible for a write-in to win, with John Whelan getting re-elected with this designation six years ago. However, political observers say it is highly unlikely Mararian would be able to do that.

It is possible for more people to enter race, but they would have to hustle on Monday. Potential candidates must pull papers from the Town Clerk department and return them, signed by 50 registered Seekonk voters, by 5 p.m.

The candidate who wins this election will serve the remainder of Rice's term, which expires in April 2014. Rice resigned in June. He declined to state publicly why he quit.