What's on the ballot? - October 6, 2015
October 4, 2015
By Ballotpedia staff Follow @ballotpedia
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| Elections on October 6, 2015 |
| Alaska |
| Massachusetts |
| New Mexico |
| North Carolina |
Voters in four states—Alaska, Massachusetts, New Mexico and North Carolina—will make decisions on local and state legislative races on October 6. These races include five municipal elections, two school board races, two local ballot measures and one state senate primary.
Alaska
Five school board seats are up for election in two districts among Alaska's largest school districts by enrollment. The Fairbanks North Star Borough School District is holding elections for Seats A and B while the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is holding elections for Seats A, B and E. The lone contested race is the Seat E race in Matanuska-Susitna, where Wade Long and Kelsey Trimmer are competing to replace Tiffany R. Scott after her move out of the district.[1][2]
Residents of Palmer and Houston will also cast ballots on local measures to ban marijuana businesses. Both measures would ban the operation of any recreational marijuana businesses within city limits. Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss threw support behind both measures as part of his re-election campaign.[3] The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman has published editorials opposing both measures on the grounds that local rules would create confusion and potential conflict with state policies approved by voters in 2014.[4]
Massachusetts
A November 3 special election in the Massachusetts State Senate's Second Plymouth & Bristol District became necessary after State Sen. Thomas Kennedy's (D) death on June 28, 2015.[5] Michael Brady and Joseph Lynch are competing in Tuesday's Democratic primary. Geoff Diehl was the only Republican to file for the election and will face the Democratic nominee in the general election.
New Mexico
Albuquerque will hold elections for four city council seats on Tuesday. District 2 incumbent Isaac Benton and District 8 incumbent Trudy Jones are unopposed in the election. Brad Winter faces challengers Israel Chavez and Paige E. Murphy in District 4. The District 6 race to replace outgoing incumbent Rey Garduño includes Patrick Davis, Stephen Nelson, Samuel Kerwin and Hess "Hessito" Yntema.
A proposed Fair Workweek Act created the most sparks among candidates for Districts 4 and 6. The legislation, which was withdrawn by sponsors Benton and Klarissa Peña in August 2015, would have guaranteed paid sick leave and advanced scheduling for private-sector employees. Winter was an outspoken opponent of the legislation while Chavez felt that individual provisions should be implemented as separate bills. Davis supported the legislation while Yntema questioned the bill's legality.[6] Social justice group OLÉ (Organizers in the Land of Enchantment) supported the legislation in its efforts to improve working conditions for retail employees and suggested that the legislation might appear as a local ballot measure in 2016. The Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce opposed the measure.[7][8][9]
North Carolina
Municipal elections are on the ballot in Charlotte, Durham, Greensboro and Raleigh. Charlotte, Greensboro and Durham are holding primaries ahead of the November 3 general election while Raleigh is holding a general election. Charlotte's Democratic primary runoff election for mayor includes incumbent Dan Clodfelter and challenger Jennifer Roberts. Roberts placed first with 35.8 percent of the September 15 primary vote, with Clodfelter placing second at 25.8 percent. The winner of the runoff will face Republican candidate Edwin Peacock on November 3, 2015.[10]
In Durham, nine candidates are running in the primary for three seats on the city council, all of which are elected at-large. Steve Schewel is the lone incumbent to seek re-election to the council. Greensboro's municipal primary features Mayor Nancy B. Vaughan and seven out of eight city council members seeking re-election. Mayor Nancy McFarlane and six of seven city council members are seeking new terms in Raleigh's municipal general election. There are more than two candidates running for Districts A and E, and runoff elections are possible for both seats on November 3 if no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote.
Note: Click on the links below for more details about each race and election results.
Alaska
School board elections
- See also: Alaska school board elections, 2015
- Fairbanks North Star Borough School District Board of Education - Seats A and B are up for general election by district to regular three-year terms.
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District School Board - Seats A and B are up for general election by district to regular three-year terms; Seat E is up for a special election due to a vacancy that created an unexpired two-year term.
Local ballot measures
- Palmer - Proposition No. P-1: an initiative to ban marijuana businesses.
- Houston - Proposition No. H-1: an initiative to ban marijuana businesses.
Massachusetts
State legislatures
- Special primary election for the Second Plymouth & Bristol District of the Massachusetts State Senate.
New Mexico
Municipal government
- See also: United States municipal elections, 2015
- Albuquerque - General elections for four city council seats.
North Carolina
Municipal government
- See also: United States municipal elections, 2015
- Charlotte - Primary runoff election for mayor.
- Durham - Primary elections for mayor and three city council seats.
- Greensboro - Primary elections for mayor and eight city council seats.
- Raleigh - General elections for mayor and seven city council seats.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, "School Board," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ Matanuska-Susitna Borough, "Final List of Candidates," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ Alaska Dispatch News, "Mat-Su voters to weigh commercial pot bans in October," August 26, 2015
- ↑ The Mat-Su Frontiersman, "Pot props should go up in smoke," August 22, 2015
- ↑ masslive.com/, "State Sen. Tom Kennedy dies at 63 after more than 30 years in Legislature," accessed June 30, 2015
- ↑ The New Mexico Political Report, "ABQ city council hopefuls talk Fair Work Week, transit and more," August 24, 2015
- ↑ KOB4, "Poll from same group sponsoring Fair Workweek Act shows community support," July 30, 2015
- ↑ Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, "Position on Fair Workweek Act (O-15-57)," accessed September 2, 2015
- ↑ Albuquerque Business First, "Albuquerque Chamber opposes Fair Workweek Act," June 26, 2015
- ↑ The Charlotte Observer, "Charlotte primary: Democrats Roberts, Clodfelter headed for run-off in mayoral primary," September 15, 2015
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