ROYALSTON – When voters go to the polls next Tuesday, not only will they be choose their respective party nominees for state and federal offices, they will also decide the next Selectboard member.

Along with the state primary, a Special Town Election will be held on Sept. 3. In addition to a primary ballot, voters will be given a separate ballot for the Selectboard race. Voting will take place at Town Hall from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Three people are running to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of former Chair Rick Martin earlier this year.

Those in the running include two former members of the board. Gary Winitzer last served in 2005 but has remained active in town affairs since then. He currently serves on the town’s Council on Aging. At this year’s Town Election, Bill Chapman defeated Winitzer by a vote of 211-38 to win a seat on the board.

In 2019, Roland Hamel faced no opposition in his race for a seat on the Selectboard. In his bid for reelection three years later, he was defeated by Martin by a vote of 93-64. Hamel now serves on the Building Committee and has been a member of the Royalston Police Department for many years.

Mark Thompson is making his first run for Selectboard. In the 2024 Town Election, he received 63 write-in votes to win a five-year term on the Planning Board.

Meanwhile, Police Chief Curtis Deveneau is hoping voters will get a second chance to vote on a proposed Proposition 2 ½ override to fund a full-time police officer. At the August Special Town Election, the $75,411 override was defeated on a tie vote: 111-111. At the Aug. 20 meeting of the Selectboard, Deveneau asked the board to speak with Town Clerk Barb Richardson to get this matter placed on the ballot “so that we can get some finality to it.”

Board Chair Shelby Bronnes told Deveneau that she spoke with Richardson, who informed her that another Town Meeting and Special Election vote needs to be held.

“I heard different,” Deveneau replied. “I checked with the Mass Municipal Association. My understanding is that, in the Town of Orange, they had a 2 ½ override ballot question several years ago and it actually passed by 17 votes. The Selectboard said, ‘We don’t think 17 people should decide a 2 ½ outcome and ordered a new ballot – without starting all over.’”

Winitzer, who was in attendance, said, “If it’s an election to fill a position, you need a majority. For something that’s not an elected position, you need a majority (to pass it) and a tie is a tie and therefore it doesn’t pass. That’s the law.”

Deveneau said he was told by Richardson that she would get back to him with information on how to proceed but he had not yet heard from her.

Bronnes assured Deveneau that she would speak with the town clerk again. The chief reiterated the importance of moving ahead one way or another in order to finalize his budget.

“Before the (Annual) Town Meeting there were discussions about what to do if it didn’t pass or did pass. It didn’t pass,” said Winitzer. “You still have a budget, and if you want to increase it then you have to have another Town Meeting. If we do another Town Meeting, then you can try to do another override.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@aol.com.