By Muriel Bristol | March 11, 2020
Milton had the second part of its annual Town election (the first being the Deliberative Session), on Tuesday, March 10, 2020.
Voter attendance of 813 was lighter than last year’s 1,047. One might suppose that Coronavirus concerns played a role.
Town offices appear first, followed by Town Warrant Articles. (Both are listed in the order of the percentages of votes received).
Town Offices (in Descending Order by Percentages Received)
Zoning Board of Adjustment – One for Three Years
None-of-the-above received 805 (99.0%) votes. Steve Baker won with 8 (1.0%) write-in votes.
Budget Committee – One for One Year
None-of-the-above received 788 (96.9%) votes. Lawrence D. “Larry” Brown won with 11 (1.4%) write-in votes. Matthew S. “Matt” Morrill received 8 (1.0%) write-in votes, and Susan Marique received 6 (0.7%) write-in votes.
Cemetery Trustee – One for Three Years
Jonathan W. Nute won with 668 (82.2%) votes. None-of-the-above came second with 141 (17.3%) votes, and “Scattering” received 4 (0.5%) votes.
Moderator – One for Two Years
Chris Jacobs won with 668 (82.2%) votes. None-of-the-above came second with 143 (17.6%) votes, and “Scattering” received 2 (0.2%) votes.
Treasurer – One for One Year
Mackenzie Campbell won with 616 (75.8%) votes. None-of-the-above came second with 194 (23.9%) votes, and “Scattering” received 3 (0.4%) votes.
Supervisor of the Checklist – One for Six Years
Karen J. Brown won with 641 (78.8%) votes. None-of-the-above received 163 (20.0%) votes and “Scattering” received 9 (1.1%) votes.
Budget Committee – Two for Three Years
Lisa M. Gautreau and Lawrence D. “Larry” Brown won seats with 625 (76.9%) votes and 6 (0.7%) write-in votes respectively. None-of-the-above came in second with 187 (23.0%) and 807 (99.1%) respectively. Susan Marique received 2 (0.2%) write-in-votes.
Planning Board – One for Two Years
Brian Boyers won with 612 (75.3%) votes. None-of-the-above came in second with 182 (22.4%) votes, “Scattering” received 19 (2.3%) votes.
Planning Board – Two for Three Years
Jonathan W. Nute and Ryan Thibeault won seats with 479 (58.9%) and 475 (58.4%) votes respectively. None-of-the-above came in second in each race with 326 (40.1%) and 322 (39.6%) votes respectively. Scattering received 8 (1%) votes.
Library Trustee – One for Three Years
Anne Nute won with 470 (57.8%) votes. Lawrence D. “Larry” Brown came second with 282 (34.7%) votes, None-of-the-above came third with 60 (7.4%) votes, and “Scattering” with 1 (0.1%) vote.
Trustee of the Trust Funds – One for Three Years
Karen J. Brown won with 383 (47.1%) votes. Anne Nute came second with 338 (41.6%) votes, None-of-the-above received 90 (11.1%) votes, and “Scattering” received 2 (0.2%) votes.
Selectman – One for Three Years
Matthew S. “Matt” Morrill won the seat with 327 (40.2%) votes, Humphrey Williams came second with 252 (31.0%) votes, and Larry Brown came third with 192 (23.6%) votes. None-of-the-above received 41 (5.0%) votes and “Scattering” received 1 (0.1%) vote..
Town Warrant Articles (in Descending Order by Percentages Received)
Milton’s Board of Selectmen (BOS) might well ask themselves to what extent they were aligned with those they “represent.” Thirteen (56.5%) of the twenty-three warrant articles that they recommended – mostly unanimously – were rejected by the voters. Another (4.3%) warrant article that the BOS voted unanimously not to recommend passed. In terms of representation, it would seem that BOS proved to be “wrong” 60.7% of the time.
Article 3: School Resource Officer – Rejected – 217 (26.7%) in favor, 570 (70.1%) opposed, and 26Â (3.2%) neither.
Article 16: Eradicate Invasive Species – Passed – 527 (64.8%) in favor, 243 (29.9%) opposed, and 43 (5.3%) neither.
Article 18: Elected to Appointed Fire Chief – Rejected – 251 (30.9%) in favor, 508 (62.5%) opposed, and 54 (6.6%) neither.
Article 24: Adoption of a Tax Cap (Submitted by Petition) – Passed – 505 (62.1%) in favor, 280 (34.4%) opposed, and 28 (3.4%) neither.
Article 19: Land or Roof Solar Lease Agreement Ratification – Passed – 505 (62.1%) in favor, 253 (31.1%) opposed, and 55 (6.8%) neither.
Article 20: Land or Roof Solar Lease Agreement AMENDMENT Ratifications – Passed – 489 (60.1%) in favor, 263 (32.3%) opposed, and 61 (7.5%) neither.
Article 11: Municipal Buildings Capital Reserve Fund – Rejected – 324 (39.9%) in favor, 469 (57.7%) opposed, and 20 (2.5%) neither.
Article 12: Milton Free Public Library Capital Reserve Fund – Passed – 466 (57.3%) in favor, 325 (40.0%) opposed, and 22 (2.7%) neither.
Article 5: Optional Tax Credit for Service-Connected Disability – Passed – 448 (55.1%) in favor, 338 (41.6%) opposed, 27 (3.3%) neither.
Article 6: Strafford Regional Planning Commission Membership Dues – Rejected – 342 (42.1%) in favor, 443 (54.1%) opposed, and 28 (3.4%) neither.
Article 4: Contingency Fund – Rejected – 344 (42.3%) in favor, 445 (54.7%) opposed, 24 (3.0%) neither.
Article 9: Highway Department Special Equipment Reserve Fund – Rejected – 354 (43.5%) in favor, 443 (54.5%) opposed, and 16 (2.0%) neither.
Article 10: Highway Department Capital Reserve Vehicle Fund – Rejected – 356 (43.8%) in favor, 441 (54.2%) opposed, and 16 (2.0%) neither.
Article 13: Technology Upgrade Capital Reserve Fund – Passed – 434 (53.4%) in favor, 362 (44.5%) opposed, and 17 (2.1%) neither.
Article 7: Highway and Road Reconstruction Fund – Rejected – 363 (44.6%) in favor, 428 (52.6%) opposed, and 22 (2.7%) neither.
Article 8: Fire Department Equipment and Capital Reserve Fund – Rejected – 360 (44.3%) in favor, 428 (52.6%) opposed, and 25 (3.1%) neither.
Article 22: Establishment of Heritage Commission – Passed – 426 (52.4%) in favor, 362 (44.5%) opposed, and 25 (3.1%) neither.
Article 2: Operating Budget – Rejected – 273 (33.6%) in favor, 421 (51.8%) opposed, and 119 (14.6%) neither.
Article 17: Establishment of Independent Capital Improvement Committee – Rejected – 345 (42.4%) in favor, 418 (51.4%) opposed, and 50 (6.2%) neither.
Article 15: Bridge Capital Reserve Fund – Passed – 416 (51.2%) in favor, 352 (43.3%) opposed, and 45 (5.5%) neither.
Article 21: Adopt RSA 41:11-a Governing Body Authority to Rent/Lease Town Property for Up to Five (5) Years – Rejected – 352 (43.3%) in favor, 410 (50.4%) opposed, and 51 (6.3%) neither.
Article 14: Geographic Information System – Passed – 406 (49.9%) in favor, 388 (47.7%) opposed, and 19 (2.3%) neither.
Article 23: Optional Tax Exemption: Solar, Wind Powered, Woodburning Systems (Submitted by Petition) – Rejected – 386 (47.5%) in favor, 399 (49.1%) opposed, and 28 (3.4%) neither.
See Town Election Results for March 9, 2021 and Town Election Results for March 12, 2019. (See also School District Election Results for March 10, 2020)
References
Milton Town Clerk. (2020, March 10). March 10, 2020 Town Election Results. Retrieved from www.miltonnh-us.com/sites/miltonnh/files/news/march_10th_2020_milton_election_results.pdf
Milton Town Clerk. (2019, March 14). March 12, 2019 Town Election Results. Retrieved from www.miltonnh-us.com/sites/miltonnh/files/news/march_12_2019_town_results.pdf
Milton Observer 