The Tisbury Select Board has a new member on its roster: Constance Alexander, who won in a decisive victory during the annual town election.
Throughout Tuesday, Tisbury voters went to the town’s emergency services facility on Spring Street to cast their ballots for 20 seats up for reelection, although some positions had no candidates, as well as two ballot questions. During the annual town election, voters on the sidewalk waved campaign signs to support different candidates.
Among the four contested races, the select board caught the most interest from voters, as could be seen by yard signs that supported either Alexander or John Greg Martino, the other select board candidate, on Tisbury lawns. Alexander was elected to a three-year term on the select board in a 443-224 vote. She replaces the seat of former board member Christina Colarusso.
“I am extremely grateful for all the support I received from the very beginning to right this very minute,” Alexander said at the polls. “I promise to do everything I can to help this town move forward in the best and most efficient way possible.”
Alexander first came to Tisbury in 1979 and was a science teacher in the Tisbury School for 22 years. She has also held various town positions, such as former chair of the planning board and member of the sewer advisory board. Alexander is currently a board member of Tisbury Waterways, Inc., a nonprofit that advocates for cleaner waterways in the town, and has served with various other organizations, including the Big Brother Big Sister Advisory Council and the Tisbury School Advisory Council.
Supporting town employees and opening up more efficient communication and collaboration across Tisbury’s departments is a major goal for Alexander.
“We are very siloed right now,” she said, referencing town offices located both on Spring Street and High Point Lane. “We’ve lost three key major management players in town in the last year and a half, and we are feeling that pinch. But we have great people in place, people who work really hard, and we need to support them the best we can, and we are getting there.”
While unsuccessful this election, Martino may not have to wait too long to run again for the select board. During the second night of the annual town meeting in April, Tisbury voters approved a measure to expand the select board from three to five members. While it passed at town meeting, it still needs to be approved by the state legislature and signed by the governor. It’ll be finalized if Tisbury voters again approve the proposed board expansion in a special ballot. The additional two members won’t be expected to join the select board until after May 2027.
Alexander said she was in favor of the expansion. She highlighted that the current quorum of three select board members limits communication among board members unless it’s a publicly scheduled meeting. The Tisbury Select Board, meanwhile, was functionally a two-member board as of September, when former board member Colarusso began missing meetings for undisclosed reasons. Colarusso resigned from the board in January.
Alexander said a bigger select board means the members can “split up and conquer” by attending more meetings and be better informed and allow “a much more efficient way to do business.”
“Personally, I think we are no longer a sleepy town,” she said. “We are a very busy town with a lot of initiatives we need to continue moving forward.”
Among the other contested races, incumbent Hillary Conklin kept her seat as town clerk over challenger Joanna Jernegan in a 506-119 vote. For the Tisbury Board of Health, Betsy Carnie received 404 votes, beating out Emma Kaitlin Kristal, who received 208 votes. For the sole contested finance and advisory committee seat, Bruce Campbell beat Richard Wayne Homans Jr. in a 308-228 vote.
The results of the remaining uncontested seats were John F. Schilling for town moderator (608 votes); Kenneth A. Barwick for town constable (562 votes); James Bartholomew Norton for the board of assessors (522 votes); Jennifer Marie Cutrer for the Tisbury School Committee (521 votes); David J. Schwab to a three-year term on the water commission (566 votes); Patrick Rolston to a two-year term on the water commission (524 votes); Mary Bernadette Budinger-Cormie for the planning board (476 votes); Robert Peyton Gilpin (473 votes) and Jean B. Lewellyn (497 votes) to three-year terms on the library board of trustees; Norah Anne Van Riper to a two-year term on the library board of trustees (507); Ruth Konigsberg (468 votes) and John Alexander Meleney (465 votes) to three-year terms on the finance and advisory committee; Thomas George Goulet to a one-year term on the finance and advisory committee (467 votes)’; and Nancy Weaver for the town’s representative on the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission (532 votes).
Meanwhile, joining a trend across the Island, Tisbury voters approved two ballot questions for Proposition 2½ overrides that would allow the town to raise more in property taxes than the state limit. Voters approved the town to proceed with a $1 million override to fill the gap in the school and town funding in a 372-288 vote. The other question, a request to allow Tisbury to borrow $3 million to expand the town’s sewer collection system in the State Road sewer district, was approved 490-157.
Nicholas Vukota contributed to this report.