Thursday, January 17, 2013
Michael Brady left Seekonk's top board in 2011. He wants to return.
Former Seekonk Selectman Michael Brady said he had to contemplate for some time whether he wanted to return to his old job because he does not believe people should spend too many years at a political post. What finally made him decide he needed to make a bid for a return was observing what he called disrespectful behavior by Board of Selectmen Chair Francis Cavaco at a meeting last month. The meeting that Brady called "the final straw" involved a discussion about whether Public Works Superintendent Bob Lamoureux should get a new contract. What bothered Brady were Cavaco's comments directed at Lamoureux and former Selectwoman Carol Bragg. "When you are in a position of authority, you need to balance that power with discretion," Brady said…
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
He says he wants to continue the momentum gained during the recent special election.
A little less than four months after he was narrowly defeated in an election for a Board of Selectmen seat, Seekonk native Paul Buckley announced Wednesday that he will try again. Buckley became the fourth person to pull papers for the April election. Buckley, who sits on the town's board of assessors, ran against Nelson Almeida in a special election in the fall for the seat vacated by Bill Rice. Almeida won by 32 votes. "This is a different race," Buckley said. "I think there's some momentum for me and I want to continue with it. I want to see if I can win in a different type of atmosphere." Board Chair Francis Cavaco's seat is the only one being contested in this election. He is officially in the race after having pulled papers and …
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Only two of the five candidates in last month's Seekonk Board of Selectmen election turn in their financial statements covering the final period of the campaign.
The deadline to submit statements on fundraising and spending in the final days of this year's campaign for two Seekonk Board of Selectmen seats was last week. However, only Nelson Almeida and Dave Parker met the deadline. The other three candidates said they would submit their statements on Wednesday. Almeida, a political newcomer who placed a surprising third in the contest, spent $45 on signs, thank-you cards and stamps in the last week of the campaign prior to the April 2 election, according to his statement. He did not collect any money. Parker, the lone incumbent and top vote-getter, raised and spent no money during the final campaign period. Town Clerk Jan Parker had not received statements from candidates Gary Sagar, Bob Blanchard …
Monday, April 2, 2012
Political newcomer Nelson Almeida surprises political observers with a strong third-place showing.
Dave Parker and Gary Sagar were the winners in Monday's Seekonk Board of Selectmen election for two three-year seats. Parker, the lone incumbent in the race, was the top vote-getter with 1,063 ballots marked in his favor. Sagar received 992 votes. The rest of the order was Nelson Almeida (877), Robert Blanchard (825) and David Viera (756). "I'm thankful that the people decided to rehire me," Parker said at the Luxury Box, where he as well as Almeida and Viera waited to hear the final results. "As opposed to the other four candidates, I was really reapplying for a job that I have already done. [The voters] had three years of decisions to base their votes on, rather than just promises." He continued, "This makes me feel that they think for…
41.83687
-71.33201
Seekonk High School
261 Arcade Ave, Seekonk, MA
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Sunday, April 1, 2012
Election Day is Monday.
One incumbent and four challengers are running for two three-year seats on the Seekonk Board of Selectmen in this year's election. Voting will take place Monday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Seekonk High School. The candidates are incumbent Dave Parker, former Selectman David Viera, Gary Sagar, Robert Blanchard and Nelson Almeida. Attleboro-Seekonk Patch gave a questionnaire to the five candidates. The responses can be found below in alphabetical order by the candidates' last names. ---------- Name: Nelson Almeida Age: 34 What do you do for a living? I'm self-employed running a heating business. What has your involvement been in town government and/or activism? Government wise I haven't had much involvement. I was active with school activities …
Thursday, March 29, 2012
A candidate's legitimacy is questioned at the Seekonk Board of Selectmen meeting.
David Saad of Seekonk Concerned Citizens said Town Clerk Jan Parker should have had the alleged problems with Board of Selectmen candidate Gary Sagar's nomination papers investigated. That she did not hand the matter over to an elections board, Saad said, has placed a dark cloud over the contest. It was revealed in the Sun Chronicle this week that Parker believed 12 of the signatures on Sagar's nomination papers were written by the same person. After consulting with a state official, she determined it was not worth the town's money to pursue an investigation. Saad said during the Community Speaks portion of Wednesday night's Board of Selectmen meeting that she should not have reached that conclusion. "I don't care who wins this election …
Several candidates are unwilling to attend the event at Seekonk High School
Seekonk Board of Selectmen candidate Gary Sagar issued a press release on Wednesday stating the candidates event planned for Thursday night at Seekonk High School would no longer be a debate, and instead would be a meet and greet. "The format, which has been changed from a debate to an informal 'Meet & Greet,' had to be changed due to a limited amount of candidates willing to appear to participate," Sagar wrote. He wrote that in addition to himself, the expected attendees are Selectmen candidate Robert Blanchard (who is campaigning with Sagar), School Committee candidates Mitch Vieira and Brian Freitas and Planning Board candidate Neal Abelson. Selectmen candidate Nelson Almeida wrote in the comments section of Attleboro-Seekonk Patch on …
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
The two-man team running for Seekonk Board of Selectmen seats has spent more than $3,000.
Most of the money being spent in this year's Seekonk Board of Selectmen election campaign is coming from three candidates, and two of them are running as a team. The combined campaign of Gary Sagar and Robert Blanchard has spent $3,226 as of Monday, according to the finance report submitted to the Town Clerk's Office. The next-biggest spender is political newcomer Nelson Almeida with $1,379. Former Selectman and Fire Chief David Viera has spent $741. Dave Parker, the lone incumbent in the race, has spent $379. The five men are running for two three-year seats on the board. Election Day is Monday. Voting will take place from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Seekonk High School. Sagar contributed $1,100 to the team campaign and Blanchard chipped in …
Monday, March 26, 2012
The candidates will speak at Seekonk High School on Thursday.
Election Day in Seekonk is next Monday. The public has a final chance to hear from the candidates at a forum this Thursday at the Seekonk High School Auditorium. Candidates for various local contests are expected to attend the event. There are two races featuring more candidates than there are open seats. Competing for two three-year seats on the Board of Selectmen are incumbent Dave Parker and challengers David Viera, Bob Blanchard, Gary Sagar and Nelson Almeida. The contest for two three-year seats on the School Committee includes incumbent Mitch Vieira, Brian Freitas and write-in candidate Jeffrey Starr Mararian. Also at the event, members of the Senior Center Building Committee will answer questions about the ballot measure calling for…
41.85277
-71.3291
Seekonk Public Library
410 Newman Ave, Seekonk, MA
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1747907
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Friday, March 23, 2012
A Board of Selectmen candidate's allegation the town "was squandering" money angers a sitting selectman.
Campaign politics made their way into the Seekonk Board of Selectmen meeting Wednesday night, leading to some intense moments. The drama began toward the end of the meeting when Selectman Francis Cavaco called selectmen candidate David Viera to the podium to answer a question about his statement made at the recent Seekonk Republican Committee-hosted candidates forum that "the town was squandering approximately $3 million." Cavaco was unable to finish asking the question before Viera told him he would not answer. The selectman then turned to Town Administrator Pamela Nolan for a response. "Our budget is very tight," she said. "We don't have $3 million to squander." Nolan said the so-called squandering was supposedly discovered during the …
41.82972
-71.325359
Town of Seekonk
100 Peck St, Seekonk, MA
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Michael Kreyssig
7:18 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013
My impression was the Mike Brady that was first elected almost 10 years ago was not the same same Mike Brady that left office. Which I guess is to be expected. I never really felt I knew where he stood on any issue and lacked consistency? That said I wouldn't be against voting for him, but I prefer new blood. If faced with a new and even slightly less experienced candidate I will probably cast my… more ›