Sandwich Election Features Crowded Races, Pot Shop Ban Proposal

SANDWICH – Residents in Sandwich have a lot of choices to make as they head to the polls Thursday for annual town election.

There is a crowded field in the race for two available seats on the Board of Selectmen. 6 candidates, William Burbank, Robert George, Shane Hoctor, Michael Miller, James Pierce, and Benjamin Westgate, are all running. Incumbents Frank Pannorfi and R. Patrick Ellis are not seeking re-election.

There are three seats up for election on the Sandwich School Committee. Incumbents James Dever and Sean Rausch are facing a challenge from Nancy Freeman for two three-year seats.  Nancy Crossman and Stephen Monyihan are running in a separate race for a two-year seat on the Committee. That seat became available when James Pierce resigned to run for a seat on the Board of Selectmen.

Residents will also vote on three ballot questions.

Question 1 asks for a $1.3 million one-year increase in property taxes to pay for road repairs. 

Voters will also weigh a proposed ban on retail marijuana shops in town. Voters in Bourne and Harwich approved similar measures at town meeting this week.

A non-binding resolution would direct town officials to ask Gov. Charlie Baker to support the transfer of spent fuel rods at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth to dry cask storage. That question also appears on the ballot in other Cape Cod communities this spring.