Belchertown, Granby votes mirror Commonwealth

Library gets one step further in expansion project

By Debbi Strauss

BELCHERTOWN AND GRANBY – Nationally, the “big story” is that in 2009, the United States will inaugurate its first African American president. In our corner of the state, which one network termed “deep blue” on Tuesday night, the fact that our Electoral College votes went to Barack Obama was perhaps less of a surprise than was the number of voters who showed up at the polls.

Of the 9,650 registered voters in Belchertown, 80 percent, or 7,723 (give or take a few absentee ballots that were not fully examined at the time of this writing) turned out to vote. While the figure is actually higher than any in Belchertown’s history, Town Clerk Bill Barnett said that the percentage of people showing up to vote for president is about the same he has seen in the past. Four years ago, 78 percent showed up to cast a vote in the Presidential Elections, and in 1980, the first election in which Barnett served as the Town Clerk, 80 percent voted.

“We had the same high percentage, but at that time, there were only about 2,800 registered voters, so the numbers were much different,” said Barnett.

Granby Town Clerk Kathy Kelly-Regan concurs with Barnett’s assessment. According to Kelly-Regan, 3,577 of the town’s 4,501 voters, or 79 percent, came out to vote on Election Day.

“That’s pretty good, but I really thought we would have gotten more like 85 percent,” said Kelly-Regan. ‘Granby always had a pretty good turnout for presidentials.

She said that she has seen 80 percent of the voters turn out for Election Day in past elections, particular the one in 2004. However, like Belchertown, Granby had fewer registered voters then.

The ‘unenrolled’ factor

While virtually all of the votes bordered in favor of a liberal side, both Belchertown and Granby boast large percentages of unenrolled voters. This could only mean that this year, those not attached to a party decided to vote on the blue side. In Belchertown, where there are more than twice as many unenrolled voters (5,340) as there are Democrats (2,877), and almost four times as many unenrolled voters as Republicans (1,343), Sen. Barack Obama received 4,822 votes to Sen. John McCain’s 2,679. If you figure that 80 percent of each party voted, it would mean that while there certainly was a split in party votes for those who are unenrolled, more unenrolled voters chose Obama than McCain.

The same held true for Granby, which has (as of Oct. 20) 1,172 Democrats, 685 Republicans, and 2,614 unenrolled registered voters. Of these voters, 1,501 voted for McCain, whereas 1,961 voted for Obama. Even though the numbers are close, it appears that more unenrolled people voted for the Democratic candidates this year.

And so it appears with most of the other candidates in the election. Sen. John Kerry, Rep. John Olver, Councilor Thomas Merrigan, state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, state Sen. Gale Candaras, state Rep. Stephen Kulik, state Sen. Thomas Petrolati, and state Rep. Ellen Story all had easy wins against their Republican contenders (if they had any at all).

The questions

Gov. Deval Patrick found it important enough to come to Belchertown a few weeks ago to talk about the economy. While he was here and had the full attention of the press, he and other dignitaries in attendance said that the most important action people in Belchertown could take immediately to address the “economic crisis” that we are facing would be to cast a “no” vote on Question 1, which asked people if they wanted to eliminate the state income tax.

Naysayers called it “scare tactics” and those who believed the warnings called it a “dose of reality”. Whatever it was, people were listening. In Belchertown, the question was defeated 5,952 – 1,657. In Granby, 2,655 people said “no” to 867 people who were in favor of the question’s passage.

Having an ounce or less of marijuana will no longer get you a felony on your record now that Question 2, which asked people to take the severe penalties of carrying a small amount of “pot” away. Now, if people get caught with an ounce or less of marijuana, they will have to turn in the drug and pay a $100 fine. This Question, which will go into effect in December, passed in Belchertown 5,078 – 2,464 and in Granby 2,203 – 1,314.

Greyhound dog racing will be a thing of the past soon, as voters clearly were in favor of Question 3, which asked if people wanted to abolish greyhound racing in this state. In Belchertown, 5,278 people said “yes” to the 2,222 “no” votes. Similarly, in Granby, the question passed 2,377 - 1,097.

The Clapp Memorial Library is one step closer to forging ahead on its expansion project, thanks to voters agreeing to the concept of a debt exclusion in a 4,460 – 2.966.

“We surely want to thank all the people who voted in favor of Question 4. We’re pleased, of course, that Question 4 passed,” said Loy Harris, co-chairman of the library’s capital campaign. “We appreciate the support from the community.”

Harris said he attributes the success of Question 4’s passage to two factors.

“It’s a reflection of the fact that the people of Belchertown love their library, and it’s a reflection that those people realize how important this expansion is to the future of the library,” he said.

The task ahead of the committee now is to convince the town to vote in favor of funding the project at an upcoming town meeting.

“Obviously, now that we got the debt exclusion, we’ll continue with our private fundraising in order to keep the requirement for the town funding at a minimum,” said Harris.

He said that the other task ahead for his committee is to work with town officials to make sure they are completely ready for the town meeting vote. Harris said he is not sure when that town meeting will take place (whether it will be at the town’s Annual Town Meeting in May or at a Special Town Meeting at a different date).

“Right now, we have to begin addressing the questions that people have raised, the people who voted in favor of Question 4 and the people who didn’t,” said Harris, adding that some of the most important questions are how much will the expansion officially cost and who will end up owning the library (currently a privately owned institution). Some people have voiced concerns about the town’s borrowing on a project to expand a facility it does not own.

“What we hope to accomplish is to build as broad a consensus as we can so that all of Belchertown will get what they want and need and will be proud of their library,” said Harris.