SAUGUS — The local cable access station, Saugus TV, is working with candidates to get information out to voters ahead of the Nov. 2 election.
The town election will feature contested races for the Board of Selectmen and School Committee. Ten candidates are vying for five seats on the board and seven candidates are seeking to sit on the five-member committee.
For the Board of Selectmen, all five incumbents — Chairman Anthony Cogliano, Vice Chair Corinne Riley, and members Jeffrey Cicolini, Debra Panetta, and Michael Serino — are seeking reelection. Five challengers — Elizabeth Marchese, Darren McCullough, Domenic Montano, Leo Fonseca Jr., and Harry Young — are also vying for a seat.
The five School Committee incumbents — Chairman Tom Whittredge, Vice Chair Ryan Fisher, and members Arthur Grabowski, John Hatch, and Joseph “Dennis” Gould — will face a challenge from two other candidates, Leigh Gerow and Vincent Serino.
With the election less than a month away, Saugus TV is ramping up its election coverage, which will provide candidates with a number of ways to communicate their message to voters.
For example, the TV station is offering campaign slides, which are open to any candidate seeking office to a town committee or board. These slides can be viewed on Comcast Channel 8 during scheduled and non-scheduled community bulletin boards, which are a regular part of the cable-access programming.
There is no cost to candidates seeking a slide for their campaign. These slides, which are a way for candidates to spread awareness about their platforms, will run in alphabetical order until polls close on election day at 8 p.m.
Those seeking office can also communicate with potential voters through the station’s Candidate Statement Program, which is open to candidates for the Board of Selectmen and School Committee. Candidates have been invited to schedule a time to come into the studio at 30 Main St., where they can record a statement about their campaigns; these videos will be shown as part of the TV station’s election coverage.
Each candidate is allowed three minutes of airtime; they are encouraged to let voters know who they are and why they are running for office. The video should be shot in one take and sum up a candidate’s message. However, candidates will be allowed an on-site review and will be able to reshoot the statement, if necessary.
All recorded statements will be compiled into a single program, which will air on Comcast Channel 8 starting on Oct. 19. The program will air three times a day, at random times in the morning, afternoon, and night until the election.
Saugus TV will also be recording candidate forums, including those hosted by other organizations. The station encourages residents, people associated with businesses or organizations, and candidates for any political office to use the public-access channel to communicate their political views.
While others’ views are encouraged, Saugus TV is nonpartisan and doesn’t produce programs aimed at endorsing specific candidates or ballot questions.
“We look forward to working with all of the candidates, and hope you take advantage of everything SCTV has to offer,” said Saugus TV Executive Director Bryan Nadeau in a statement to the community.
The town election will also feature races for Town Meeting — members are voted on in each of the town’s 10 precincts — and the Saugus Housing Authority; three candidates are seeking to fill three open seats on the five-member Housing Authority.
