Stoneham is growing, 7 precincts for 2002 elections
Published on May 23rd, 2001
STONEHAM, MA - Seven precincts of votes will be tallied for the first time in Stoneham at the April 2, 2002, Town Election.
Selectmen approved a reprecincting plan proposed by Town Clerk John Hanright at their May 15 meeting. The plan calls for seven precincts, one more than the old layout.
Looking from north to south and splitting the town down the middle along Main Street, the new precincts run 3-1-2 down the left or east side and 4-5-7-6 down the west side. The Town Clerk’s Office is sending letters to all residents to inform them of their new precinct designations.
Precincts are examined every 10 years using the numbers from the decennial federal census. The 2000 census numbers revealed that Stoneham, at 22,219 residents, had little room for growth. (Precincts record the total number of residents in an area, not just registered voters.) Precincts can contain a maximum of 4,000 people with a variance of plus or minus five percent.
To allow for growth Hanright’s plan leaves all seven Stoneham precincts below 3,800 residents, the low end of the maximum range. Precinct 1 contains 3,182 people (formerly 3,458); precinct 2 - 3,186 (formerly 3,688); precinct 3 - 3,240 (formerly 3,756); precinct 5 - 3,290 (formerly 3,901); precinct 6 - 3,181 (formerly 3,772); and newly created precinct 7 has 3,078 residents.
Hanright anticipates future growth, but he also believes population numbers could surge if everyone decides to fill out the census forms one of these decades.
“We only went up 16 people officially, but 250 homes have been built in town since 1990,” Hanright said.
Reprecincting will cost Stoneham $6,250 for one new voting machine.
Hanright has sent Stoneham’s numbers to the Local Election Districts Review Commission of Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin’s Office. This body will examine the population changes around the state and draft new districts. Stoneham Representatives Paul Casey and Michael Festa and State Senator Richard Tisei may be affected. New districts will be in effect for the September 2002 State Primary Election.
A Federal Census Division of Galvin’s office helped communities map new precincts with the aid of computerized geographical information systems.
“They were a great help,” Hanright said.
The state team helping Stoneham included David Paleologos, William Palmer, Deborah Cabral, Carol Maniglia and John Barr.
Stoneham Information Systems Manager Brain Clapp was another essential player in mapping the new precincts. Citizens can view the new precinct map at Town Hall.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!