The Cambridge Board of Election Commissioners is a four member board of Cambridge residents in charge of, among other things, the conduct of primaries, preliminaries, and elections in accordance with the Massachusetts Election Laws and Regulations. Every one of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts has a similar board.
By law, the board must contain equal numbers of registered Democrats and Republicans. The Democratic commissioners are elected by the Cambridge Democratic City Committee [CDCC] and appointed by the City Manager. The CDCC elects their candidates at a public meeting and submits them to the City Manager in order of preference.
The City Manager then appoints one of the nominees to a four year term. Past practice has been that a sitting commissioner with the #1 backing of their party gets reappointed. It is only natural for people to wonder why the tradition was broken for the first time in the last 30 years and I’d like to speak to that.
First and foremost, the City Manager was given three good candidates, and Sara Rivera is a terrific choice. Sara is a life-long resident of Cambridge, multi-lingual speaker, and a long-time poll worker. She will be a great Commissioner and has my full support.
The City Manager can speak to the details of his process himself.
Having witnessed it in action over 26 years, I know that the entire Election Commission works very hard to deliver safe, secure, fair, and transparent elections to the voters of Cambridge. I sometimes disagreed with others on how to accomplish that goal. I believe those disagreements stem from good intentions on all of our parts and I always give everyone the benefit of a doubt.
I loved being an Election Commissioner, it’s the best job in town. If you have ever come to observe “the Count”, that period after the votes are cast and are being counted, you will see that the Election Commission is separated from the public by a simple barrier.
I will still be involved in helping the voters of Cambridge participate in safe, secure, fair, and transparent elections. And I look forward to doing so on the other side of the barrier.
Tom Stohlman, Former Cambridge Election Commissioner
PS. Happy to talk about voting with anyone, just ask!
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To the Voters of Cambridge,
The Cambridge Board of Election Commissioners is a four member board of Cambridge residents in charge of, among other things, the conduct of primaries, preliminaries, and elections in accordance with the Massachusetts Election Laws and Regulations. Every one of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts has a similar board.
By law, the board must contain equal numbers of registered Democrats and Republicans. The Democratic commissioners are elected by the Cambridge Democratic City Committee [CDCC] and appointed by the City Manager. The CDCC elects their candidates at a public meeting and submits them to the City Manager in order of preference.
The City Manager then appoints one of the nominees to a four year term. Past practice has been that a sitting commissioner with the #1 backing of their party gets reappointed. It is only natural for people to wonder why the tradition was broken for the first time in the last 30 years and I’d like to speak to that.
First and foremost, the City Manager was given three good candidates, and Sara Rivera is a terrific choice. Sara is a life-long resident of Cambridge, multi-lingual speaker, and a long-time poll worker. She will be a great Commissioner and has my full support.
The City Manager can speak to the details of his process himself.
Having witnessed it in action over 26 years, I know that the entire Election Commission works very hard to deliver safe, secure, fair, and transparent elections to the voters of Cambridge. I sometimes disagreed with others on how to accomplish that goal. I believe those disagreements stem from good intentions on all of our parts and I always give everyone the benefit of a doubt.
I loved being an Election Commissioner, it’s the best job in town. If you have ever come to observe “the Count”, that period after the votes are cast and are being counted, you will see that the Election Commission is separated from the public by a simple barrier.
I will still be involved in helping the voters of Cambridge participate in safe, secure, fair, and transparent elections. And I look forward to doing so on the other side of the barrier.
Tom Stohlman, Former Cambridge Election Commissioner
PS. Happy to talk about voting with anyone, just ask!
Like this:
Related Stories
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)3 nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.