4-way Select Board race to headline town election

By Jay Turner

The field has been set for the 2026 annual town election, and once again, a contested race for Select Board will be the headliner on the April ballot after four candidates returned papers by Tuesday’s nomination deadline for two open seats on the board.

With Select Board member Chris Albert opting not to seek reelection this year, the four-way race will feature one incumbent, current Select Board Chair John McCourt, along with three first-time challengers: Julie Beckham, David Clough, and Gregory Murphy.

While none of the three challengers have held elective office before, all have served on appointed boards and committees, with Murphy currently serving on the Capital Planning, Economic Development, and Sustainability & Climate Action Plan committees. Beckham recently served as vice chair of the town’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, while Clough served as vice chair of the Police Audit Committee and previously served for six years on the Finance Committee.

Notably, Clough not only submitted nomination paperwork for a Select Board seat, but he did the same for the one open seat on the Board of Assessors, setting up a contested race against longtime incumbent Gene Manning. While town bylaws permit him to be a candidate for more than one office in the same election, he can only hold one seat, meaning that if he were to win both races, he would have to choose which seat to serve — thereby opening up a vacancy for the other seat.

In terms of other outstanding vacancies, no candidates stepped forward for either the three-year Planning Board vacancy or one of the three open Library Trustee seats, meaning that they will go unfilled in the April election unless a write-in candidate emerges.

The other open Planning Board seat on the ballot drew one nominee — first-time candidate Robert Maffie, who is running unopposed for a five-year term.

For the other two seats on the Library Board of Trustees, newcomer Elizabeth Dwyer-Emhardt is running for one of them, while incumbent George Comeau is seeking reelection for another three-year term.

The rest of the ballot consists of incumbents who are running unopposed, including Kimberly McCourt and Sonja Grauds for School Committee and Julie Goodman for Board of Health.

The 2026 town election will take place on Tuesday, April 7, with an option available for voting by mail. For additional information about the election, including a precinct map, polling locations, and a vote by mail application, visit town.canton.ma.us/259/Town-Clerk or call the Town Clerk’s Office at 781-821-5013.

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