Six candidates attended a candidate night Thursday night at Temple Town Hall, and one resident threw his name into the ring as a last-minute write-in.

Noting that Temple’s ConVal School Board representative, Elizabeth Swan, is not on the ballot and there are no listed candidates for the position for the March 12 election, a community member said they hoped a volunteer would run for the position.

After a moment of consideration, resident and former Mascenic School Board member Jim Kingston stood up and announced that he would run for the position as a write-in. Kingston said that, having served on a school board in the past, he was familiar with how they operate.

“My focus when I was on the Mascenic board was to get value for the towns’ dollars,” he said. “And that doesn’t necessarily mean spending a lot less. It means spending it on the right things.”

Kingston emphasized that this optimization the school budget could be a way to prevent the proposed school district reconfiguration. Residents vote Tuesday on an article that could give the School Board the authority to close Francestown Elementary School, Dublin Consolidated School, Pierce School in Bennington and Temple Elementary School.

“I am vehemently against Article 10 and the closure of our elementary school,” he said.

Kingston only moved to Temple in July, but said he’s a longtime area resident, having formerly lived in New Ipswich.

The other write-in candidate present, Lilliane LeBel, is running for trustee of the trust funds. LaBel is an incumbent, having served as trustee for the previous two years. She cited her experience in the role, as well as with running her own business, as qualifying her for re-election.

The only contested race in Temple this year is for a position on the Planning Board, and Russell Huntley was the only candidate in attendance. Huntley is a land surveyor and wetland scientist, and has served as an alternate member on the Planning Board. He said he is seeking a full position on the Planning Board because of his love for the work and ability to bring his professional expertise to the town. He previously served on the zoning board in his hometown of Westmoreland.

Temple Deputy Fire Chief Ken Caisse is an incumbent on the Select Board, and is running for re-election.

“Here I am – I’m a sucker for punishment – this will be my fourth term ,” he said. “I believe I’ve done a great job for Temple, watching out for everybody’s wallets. So that’s what I plan on doing, I plan on it just continuing the way it has.”

The night’s host was Moderator Phil Lauriat, who is running for re-election. He emphasized his dedication to ensuring as many people as possible have a chance to vote, and that every vote is counted accurately.

“As has always happened in Temple, if there’s ever a recount, we always match what we had [counted] before, and I’m trying to keep that up,” he said.

Lauriat did not receive any questions from the audience, but jokingly urged anyone who may have doubts about the vote count to come to observe the process.

“Even better than coming to watch us count – I need one more person to count Tuesday,” he said. “It’s kind of fun, you can hang out – want to come?” Residents laughed.

Carol Mamczak, a 43-year Temple resident is running for supervisor of the checklist. She was appointed to the position in 2023 after the passing of a previous supervisor left the role vacant, and is now running for election.

“I’ve been lucky enough to work with two supervisors who have so much knowledge,” she said. “I’ve enjoyed working with them, I’ve enjoyed doing that work. I believe in the democratic process and I ask you for your vote.”

Budget Advisory Committee candidate Elena Fiske noted that while she is a Temple resident, her work as a consultant requires her to travel, so other residents might not recognize her. She described her desire to help the town after her retirement.

“I’m almost retired, so I figured I’d start this year,” she said to laughs from the audience.

She noted that her brother, Tim Fiske, was also on the committee, and encouraged her to run for the position.

“He said, ‘You’re good at computers, so you should do this,’” a comment that got more laughs.

Not in attendance were Library Trustee candidate Carter Sartell, Planning Board candidates Bruce Kullgren Jr. and James Medeiros and Town Clerk candidate Stacy Clark.

Temple residents will vote on town office positions on Tuesday, March 12, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Town Meeting is on Saturday, March 16, at 10 a.m. in Town Hall.