Several commissioners start write-in campaigns

Updated Oct. 21, 3:33 pm.

As Islanders gear up for election season, several candidates for seats on the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) started write-in campaigns after they were left off the ballot due to issues with their paperwork at the state level. 

Incumbent commissioners Jannette Vanderhoop, Mary Bernadette Budinger-Cormie, and Mike MacKenty all told The Times they submitted the proper candidate paperwork, but the state said they left out minor details on the forms, which resulted in them being left off the ballot. 

The state election is Nov. 3. The deadline to register to vote or change party designation is Oct. 24 at 5 pm, and the last day to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 27. Early voting started Oct. 17.

The MVC is made up of 17 active commissioners who are either elected by residents (nine) or appointed by town officials (seven). Five commissioners can be appointed by the governor’s office, with only one of those five eligible to vote in regulatory and planning matters. Michael Kim is currently the only governor’s appointee. Elected commissioners have a two-year term.

In this upcoming election season, that includes incumbents Ben Robinson, Doug Sederholm, Brian Smith, Cormie, MacKenty, and Vanderhoop. New candidates this session include Fred Khedouri and Maria Krokidas, who is also running through a write-in campaign. Kate Putnam is also running for the first time as an elected official; she’s been on the MVC board, but was appointed by the town of Edgartown. All candidates are uncontested, and write-ins must garner at least five votes to get appointed. 

The new candidates, Khedouri, Krokidas, and Putnam, outlined their goals and motivation for running at a recent panel held by the League of Women Voters of Martha’s Vineyard.

Khedouri is a Chilmark resident, a commissioner for the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank, and chairman of the Chilmark zoning board of appeals. He also serves on the board of Island Health Care. 

“I get off the ferry and I think, ‘I’m really glad the MVC was created,’” he said at the panel last Tuesday. He said he sees the MVC as a guard against developers who propose housing on the Island without concern for the impact on the year-round community. 

Krokidas moved to the Island in 2018 on retiring from her career as an attorney, and now lives in West Tisbury. She co-founded a Massachusetts-based firm that provides legal representation. On Tuesday, she said she mainly worked with real estate companies who built affordable housing projects, and worked with state organizations like MassHousing. 

She said even with the challenges the Island community faces, it’s “heaven” to her and her family, and she wants to protect the place she values and calls home. 

Putnam was appointed to the MVC by the town of Edgartown in 2022, but was removed from the position and replaced with Daniel McGinn in February 2026. She told The Times then that it was possible that Katama Meadows was a reason for the decision to replace her on the board. But this Wednesday, she said over text that she never voiced opposition to Katama Meadows while she was on the MVC because commissioners hadn’t started a full review of the project yet.   

Putnam’s background is in consulting, and she now spends her time on advocacy for initiatives like the housing bank and a commercial kitchen that is accessible to Islanders. 

Putnam is a member of the finance committee in Edgartown. She also helped create the Martha’s Vineyard Women’s Forum, a group of about 60 Island women who advocate for gender equality, in 2020. One of their actions was introducing a ballot item in 2021 to change the term “selectmen” in each town to its current name, “select boards.”

Putnam outlined her goals for the MVC as a new candidate on Tuesday as prioritizing “responsible growth” and regional planning that supports it. She called for a more concerted effort to invest in creative housing solutions. 

Jeff Agnoli and Linda Sibley are not running for re-election. Sibley is the longest-running commissioner in history, having served since 1992.

According to Debra O’Malley, communications manager in the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the materials needed for ballot entry include 10 certified voter signatures on the nomination papers; a certificate from the local board of registrars certifying the candidate’s voter registration; and a receipt from the State Ethics Commission certifying the candidate has filed a statement of financial interests. 

Vanderhoop, Cormie, and MacKenty submitted their paperwork, but due to minor exclusions of information, their materials were essentially nullified. 

“I did get my paperwork in on time,” Cormie said at the panel this Tuesday. Cormie told The Times that she hadn’t filled out the abbreviation of the town she lives in on her nomination papers, which was within a small, gray section on the page. She said she did fill out her address, however, and listed the town elsewhere. MacKenty left out his town abbreviation as well. O’Malley wrote in an email that Cormie also didn’t submit a State Ethics Commission receipt. 

Cormie sent the receipt in question to The Times, and said the state told her not to submit it since the other paperwork was deemed incomplete. 

“It was devastating for me,” Cormie said to attendees of the panel regarding her exclusion from the ballot. She said she feels a responsibility to represent the town of Tisbury and the region, and it was difficult to see that she wasn’t on the ballot. Cormie has been a commissioner since 2025. 

Both Cormie and MacKenty said they take responsibility for the misstep, and are looking forward to their write-in campaigns. 

“Hopefully my write-in campaign will be effective, because the Island needs a fully staffed and experienced commission going forward,” MacKenty told The Times in a text message. MacKenty moved to the Island in 2014, and has been a commissioner since 2024. He has done work with the Great Pond Foundation and served on the Edgartown Master Plan committee. 

“I want to be part of the conversation,” Cormie said of her campaign to be re-elected to the MVC. She highlighted her priorities of listening, learning, and advocating for the needs of the Island. Cormie is also a member of the Tisbury planning board and a grant coordinator for Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools. She has two sons. Cormie said she got involved in local planning a few years ago, and developed an interest in the work and a commitment to the community. 

O’Malley told The Times that Vanderhoop submitted all materials except a receipt from the State Ethics Commission. Vanderhoop, however, did send The Times proof of a receipt being sent to the state, but said it could have been the wrong document accidentally. 

“I’m not a slacker,” she joked to attendees during Tuesday’s panel. “I did all the paperwork. I don’t know what went wrong.”

Vanderhoop said she’s ready to run as a write-in candidate, and feels strongly that the MVC has an important role on the Vineyard. She said she’s running again for the benefit of her community and her daughter. Vanderhoop is a member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), and is an elected councilwoman for the Tribal Council. She is on the board of the Aquinnah Cultural Center, and has been a commissioner since 2025. 

“I’m happy to give all my ideas away. I just want to see them implemented,” she said on Tuesday. “I’m doing this for the next generation.”

Editor’s note: Updated to correct that Cormie and MacKenty did put their address on their nomination papers; they only left out the abbreviation of the town they live in. Details about Putnam, her tenure on the MVC, and her position as a candidate were also added.