Bickford rejoins Select Board as write-in candidate; McNamara wins three-year seat

Ken Whitson campaigns for his wife, Margie Whitson, outside the polls on Tuesday. STAFF PHOTO BY ASHLEY SAARI

Melissa Horsley won elections for both the town clerk and tax collector in narrow races on Tuesday. STAFF PHOTO BY ASHLEY SAARI

Melissa Horsley’s family, John Horsley, Tam Desrosiers and Elisabeth Horsley, campaign for her outside the polls on Tuesday. STAFF PHOTO BY ASHLEY SAARI

Margie Whitson, Aurora Sousa, Ken Whitson, Dick Bickford and Elisabeth Horsley advocate for candidates outside the polls on voting day. STAFF PHOTO BY ASHLEY SAARI

By ASHLEY SAARI

Monadnock Ledger-Transcript

Published: 03-14-2024 8:16 AM

Greenville NH

Maggie Bickford will return to the Greenville Select Board, after being elected to complete her term, which she resigned earlier this winter.

Bickford had been serving as a Select Board member when she stepped away from the board due to health reasons. Kathleen McNamara was appointed to fill the empty slot on the board in Bickford’s absence.

At the time of her resignation, Bickford had a year left on her term, and resigned in time for the remainder of her term to be placed on the ballot as a one-year seat on the board. Since her resignation, Bickford’s health had improved to the point she was prepared to rejoin the board. While too late to officially sign up for the office, Bickford ran for the seat as a write-in candidate, receiving 156 votes.

McNamara signed up to run unopposed for the three-year open seat on the Select Board, and was elected with 248 votes.

In the other contested race on Greenville’s ballot, the town chose a new clerk and tax collector, as incumbent Kathy Valliere did not run this year. Deputy Town Clerk and Tax Collector Melissa Horsley, who has worked with Valliere for the past four years, won both the clerk and collector positions, though in both cases, the race was narrow against Margie Whitson, who also ran for both seats.

Whitson, who has previously served in New Ipswich’s clerk and tax collector office, was only three votes shy of Horsley for the clerk position, with Horsley winning 148-145. Horsley also won tax collector with 156 votes to Whitson’s 136.

In uncontested races, Elisa Fitzgerald was elected as treasurer with 260 votes, Marshall Buttrick as moderator with 281 votes, Debra Spratt as library trustee with 255 votes, James Hartley as cemetery trustee with 274 votes, Barbara Eaton as trustee of trust funds with 284 votes and Janice Mueller as supervisor of the checklist with 273 votes.

The town also agreed to a proposed zoning amendment to the town’s floodplain development ordinance, in a 221-55 vote.

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