SALISBURY — With the May Town Election coming up fast, three incumbents who are up for re-election have already pulled papers for the ballot.
Two three-year selectmen terms and a three-year term on the Triton Regional School Committee are the seats up for grabs, according to Town Clerk Melinda Morrison. Papers are available at the Town Clerk’s Office, with the last day to pull being March 22, at 5 p.m. The deadline to return papers is 5 p.m. on March 25.
On Monday, Morrison said Selectmen Chuck Takesian and Donna Abdulla have pulled papers as well as incumbent School Committee Chairperson Linda Litcofsky. Thew town clerk went on to say that a challenger to one off the seat may be pulling papers by the end of the week.
“Somebody’s husband came in and said that they’ll be in in a couple of days for it,” Morrison said.
Asked whether there would be plenty of challenges for incumbents to fend off this spring, Morrison said it can be hard to gauge how many folks will throw their name in the hat.
“It’s different every year,” Morrison said.
Abdulla, who returned her papers Monday morning, spoke about her decision to run again.
“I decided that I think I want do it one more time. It would be nice to be able to finish the things that we’ve started,” Abdulla said.
She added, “The town seems to be moving in the right direction, and I would like to continue to be a part of that movement.”
Abdulla said growing the town’s commercial base would be her top goal if re-elected.
“I believe that we are searching for an economic development director, which will probably help us on that front,” Abdulla said.
She explained that her other top priority has always been maintaining the town’s roads.
“I think we’re on the right track with that,” Abdulla said.
She credited Department of Public Works Director Jamie Tuccolo’s strong leadership in his first year with the town.
Tuccolo, former deputy director of the Newburyport Department of Public Services, was hired as the new DPW director in Salisbury following the departure of Lisa DeMeo at the end of 2022.
Abdulla shared what some of the highlights of her two terms as a selectman so far.
“The best part about being a selectman is having people stop in, say hello, come in and ask me if I can help them, if I can point them in the right direction, and that’s basically what I do. I try to get their issue to the person that they need to address,” Abdulla said.
The Daily News reached out to Takesian but did not hear back in time for this report. Takesian would be running for his fourth three-year term.