Milford 2020 Election: What You Need To Know

MILFORD, MA — Just a few months ago, Milford was headed toward a pretty normal spring election on April 7. Then coronavirus hit and changed pretty much everything.

The postponed spring election will take place Tuesday. Except for the candidates running in the 2020 race, there will be some noticeable differences compared to the pre-pandemic election plans. Here's a refresher on the election before polls open.

New polling hours

The Board of Selectmen in mid-May voted to reduce polling hours in response to the virus. Voting will take place from noon to 8 p.m. instead of the usual start time of 7 a.m.

New polling location

Unlike other elections, Milford is only opening one polling place on June 16. All in-person voting will be done at Milford High School, 31 West Fountain St. Voters will still get ballots based on their home precinct.

What's on the ballot

There are 24 candidates running in various races from Board of Selectmen to the Housing Authority. But only four races — Board of Selectmen, Library Trustees, Highway Surveyor, and School Committee — are competitive. For example, Town Clerk Amy Neves is on the ballot, but no one is running against her.

In the Board of Selectmen race, two candidates — former police chief Tom O'Loughlin and realtor Joshua Lioce — are vying for the seat being vacated by Selectmen Chair William Buckley, who has served on the board since 2005.

There's also a ballot question involving health insurance payments to surviving spouses of town employees:

Shall the Town accept the provisions of Section 9D ½ of Chapter 32B of the General Laws by which the Town would, in addition to the payment of fifty percent of premium costs payable by the surviving spouse of an employee or retired employee for group general or blanket hospital, surgical, medical and other health insurance, pay an additional or subsidiary rate to a surviving spouse?

See a sample ballot here.

Milford candidate profiles

Before coronavirus hit, Patch asked each candidate in the Board of Selectmen and School Committee races to answer candidate questionnaires. We heard back from all but one candidate.

• Milford Candidate Profile: Michael Aghajanian For School Board
• Milford Candidate Profile: Jennifer Parson For School Committee
• 2020 Milford Election Profile: Brendan Rickert For School Board
• 2020 Milford Election Profile: Tom O'Loughlin For Selectman
• 2020 Milford Election Profile: Joshua Lioce For Selectman