March 17, 2026 By Carol Britton Meyer
Following the deadline to submit completed nomination papers, there is one race for the May 2 town election – for planning board. Philip DeCola is challenging incumbent Gary Tondorf-Dick for his five-year seat.
In other election news, incumbent Jennifer Benham and Nina Villanova are candidates for two seats on the school committee.
Henry Randolph Buckley took out papers for this position but did not return them. Michelle Ayer is not running for re-election.
The following incumbents are running unopposed: Town Moderator Michael Puzo; select board member William Ramsey; Randall Winters for the board of assessors; board of health member Elizabeth Eldredge; Richard Eisen for sewer commission; and Matthew LeBretton for recreation commission.
Joseph Fisher, a former select board member who was elected to the sewer commission in the 2025 town election, is running for the open municipal light board seat. Tyler Herrald did not pull papers for re-election.
The last day to register to vote is Friday, April 17 – for both the town meeting and town election. “If folks want to weigh in on town meeting issues, they must attend the meeting in person,” Town Clerk Carol Falvey told the Hingham Anchor. “Remote participation is not an option.”
Vote by mail will be offered starting around April 1 or 2. Applications can be found on the Secretary of the Commonwealth website: https://www.sec.state.ma.us/divisions/elections/languages/vote-by-mail-applications.htm.
“The last day to apply for a mail-in ballot is Monday, April 27, but since that is the first day of town meeting, we hope folks will make every effort to submit their applications prior to April 24,” Falvey said.
The last day to apply for an in-person absentee ballot is Friday, May 1, at noon. “Please remember, this option is only available to those who will be out of town on Saturday, May 2, have a religious belief that prevents them from voting on election day, or have a disability that keeps them from voting at their polling location,” Falvey explained.