Buckley/Almeida Brace for Clash on Monday

Seekonk voters will head to the polls again on Monday, this time for a special election to fill a seat on the Board of Selectman left vacant this summer when Selectman Bill Rice resigned. Rice left in the wake of a failed attempt to limit the power of Selectmen to serve on other boards in addition to the Board of Selectmen.

Vying for his vacant seat are Paul Buckley and Nelson Almeida. Buckley, a lifelong resident of Seekonk, has received support from at least two of the sitting Selectmen. Almeida, a relative newcomer to Seekonk, claims to be a more independent choice.

“I know each one of the board members fairly well. I feel like I can get along with them and earn their respect,” said Buckley outside polls in early September. Buckley said his familiarity with the current members would not go as far as condoning “bickering” which residents have complained about in recent months. “To me, it needs to stop. I’m not going to be like that,” said Buckley.

Almeida sees his opponent’s relationship with other Selectmen as more of a problem. “People ask me, ‘What do you think about all the nonsense going on on that board?’ and I say, ‘That’s why I’m running,’” said Almeida. “A lot of that nonsense…those Selectmen are friends of my opponent. If you want to elect my opponent, you know, that’s going to continue,” added Almeida.

Buckley has been less interested in discussing candidate/board dynamics, instead proposing areas he thinks Town Hall must improve in going forward. “Human Resources Advisory Board and some type of IT [Information Technology] in Town Hall. That’s the difference between me and Mr. Almeida. He’s more…actions of the board,” said Buckley, citing major problems with the town website as chief among the issues he would like to fix. Buckley says that the town has a great website, but that further training and investment is required to make it function as it was designed to operate. He even hinted that perhaps a new position is required to properly institute these changes.

The only issue Mr. Almeida cited in his conversation with The Reporter was poor representation of the board at town functions. “We had a grand opening here [at Seekonk Meadows] a couple of months ago. We only had one selectman show up. I want the board to be more involved in our town,” said Almeida. He then quickly turned conversation back to the close relationship between the board and his opponent.

“Right now I feel like I’m running against four Selectmen. The chairman’s good friends with my opponent, one of the selectman is out there pitching signs for him, and there’s another selectman who’s writing articles for him. I don’t have any of that. I’m truly the independent neutral voice for our residents. I’m not affiliated with any of them,” said Almeida.

In large part, Mr. Almeida’s assertions of support for Buckley from the board appear accurate. Today, Selectman Gary Sagar publicly endorsed Buckley, publishing a letter of support online. Vice Chairman Bob McLintock donated a sum of $100 to Buckley’s campaign. Sagar was also seen erecting a Buckley campaign sign on Arcade Avenue last week.

Voting will take place Monday at Seekonk High School. Polls will be open from 7AM-8PM.