I have a gripe! I’ve been reading on FB and other community areas that Holliston actually passed the override by a 66% margin – 1/3 of the folks who voted were against, and 2/3 were for. This is extremely deceptive. This town has far more registered voters than actually vote in our elections which frankly is a total disgrace.
7,620 people voted for School Committee Candidates in town election. Assuming that this close to being registered voters in town, our turnout for the override was dismal to say the least. A mere 4,005 people pertaining in this override question. That is a 52% change from the town elections.
While the school committee might be touting the 66% of people voting FOR the override, remember that fewer than ONE HALF of Holliston residents even bothered to take the time to vote.
For those of you who did not vote — an old saying – if you didn’t vote – don’t complain.
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Respectfully, turnout was fantastic for the special election. Only 2540 voters participated in the annual 2024 Spring Town Election, which means a 57% increase in voter turnout. For this special section.
The 7620 votes you mention included voting for up to 3 candidates for School Committee.
https://www.townofholliston.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif706/f/uploads/official_results_ate_5-21-2024.pdf
Yet again, “anonymous” is as factually inaccurate as they are wrong on the issues. In the May, 2024 Town Election, there were not 7,620 PEOPLE that voted for School Committee, there were 7,620 VOTES cast for up to 3 Candidates. Even then, there were 1,523 blanks meaning that only 6,097 votes for candidates were cast. The actual FACTs (because facts still matter) are that 2,540 people voted in the May election which means that in this recent override election, voter turnout was 58.93% HIGHER than in May. Since I happen to also know the approximate number of registered voters (11,645) I can convert that to voter turnout for you: 21.8% in May versus 34.3% this week. This compares to 43% turnout in 2010 and 29% turnout in 2008 for those most recent overrides. However, it also compares to only 1,113 voters in May, 2023 and 1,071 in May 2022 the most recent prior Town Elections. So, voter turnout for this override was almost 4x what a regular Town Election sees (this past May was unusually high due to 2 highly competitive elections for planning board and select board and has been as low as 504 voters in May 2014).
I think that anonymous is proving a very important point about how important education is especially when it comes to reading comprehension and mathematics.
The numbers are not misleading. The residents of Holliston, by a 2 to 1 margin, overwhelming showed up and supported the Schools and I am incredibly grateful for that support. Thank you!
https://www.townofholliston.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif706/f/uploads/results_ate_5-21-2024.pdf
https://www.townofholliston.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif706/f/uploads/results_ate_9-10-2024.pdf
Mr. Alfred
You are in the role of Chair. Your behavior does not reflect your leadership role. You are snarky, sometimes down right rude, and even arrogant in your responses to your constituents. Do better!
-Another anonymous resident
What the community demonstrated this past Tuesday is that an overwhelming majority of voters voted FOR our schools. This isn’t about me and never has been; it’s about what is best for our students, staff, schools and greater community. My focus now is on the future and improving not looking back.
Dear another anonymous resident –
It’s easy to criticize someone when you hide behind anonymity. I have worked with Dan Alfred and I can honestly say that he is not afraid to put himself out there when he believes in something. You may think that he is rude and snarky, but I think it must be due to his frustration after reading the original comment from the other anonymous person. It was full of inaccuracies which were evident to others who have commented. The override passed by a wide margin and misinterpreting the numbers doesn’t change that. We are a small town and should move forward now.
FYI there were not 7,620 voters at Town Election in May 2024.
7,620 votes were cast for School Committee when you could vote for Three.
The actual turn out was 2540 so this election having 4005 was higher.