BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro's March 4 town election will be run without any contested races.
According to Town Clerk Annette Cappy, all the candidates will run unopposed in Brattleboro's town elections this year. Of 13 open seats, she said, only one new person has joined the ranks.
The lack of candidates raises the question of whether political representation in Brattleboro reflects the multitude of perspectives, needs, and experiences of its residents.
Kim Price is running for a one-year seat on the town School Board, a seat recently held by Chair Margaret Atkinson.
“It's someone else's turn to have all the fun I've been having,” Atkinson told The Commons earlier this month.
Atkinson announced earlier this month she would not run for a 10th term.
Incumbent town School Board members David Schoales and Mark Truhan have also filed petitions. Schoales has put in for a three-year term, and Truhan for a one-year term.
Calls to Price seeking comment were not returned by press time.
The Brattleboro Selectboard will also keep its familiar roster. Incumbents John Allen, Donna Macomber, and David Schoales have submitted their bids for the board's three open seats. Allen and Macomber will run for the two one-year terms, while Schoales is running for the open three-year term.
Cappy said that the roster for Representative Town Meeting is short of candidates. Each of Brattleboro's three town districts has a shortfall, she said.
The number of representatives varies based on each district's population.
District 1 stretches north to south from Brattleboro's borders with Dummerston and Guilford, and west to east from Marlboro to the areas of Upper Dummerston Road, East Orchard Street, and Interstate 91.
District 2 encompasses the north-to-south area of Williams and Frost streets to the Guilford line, and west to east from Interstate 91 to the Connecticut River.
Both districts are short 12 members each.
District 3 is the northeast quadrant of town and includes the downtown business area. It has 18 candidates running for 15 three-year seats, Cappy said. However, the district comes up short on candidates for its one-year seats.
Voting takes place at the Brattleboro Union High School gym from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Representative Town Meeting is March 22 at 8:30 a.m. at the BUHS gym.