Duxbury budget articles win strong voter approval; several candidates still needed
March 3, 2026 | By Lisa Scagliotti 
Duxbury Justices of the Peace Lori Morse (left) and Dan Cordozo (right), work the drive-through ballot drop-off on Tuesday. Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
Casting their ballots in the drive-through loop at the town office and highway garage on Tuesday, Duxbury voters registered strong approval for the proposed $1.18 million town budget and all other financial questions, including $183,000 to purchase a new tandem truck.
Town Clerk Maureen Harvey said 328 of the town’s 1,176 registered voters cast ballots on Town Meeting Day, as all town business and elections were conducted by paper ballot. That works out to just shy of 28% turnout.
Duxbury permanently changed its Town Meeting format to conduct all voting by Australian (paper) ballot after experimenting with that format during the COVID-19 pandemic, when its in-person meeting was suspended. Greater participation with all items available by ballot in all-day voting led to the change in 2023. Duxbury also kept the drive-through setup started during the pandemic. It eliminates the need to set up a polling place inside Crossett Brook Middle School, as was done pre-pandemic. And it makes for a quicker voting experience, given that voters don’t even need to get out of their vehicles.
Harvey reported that the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget of $1,183,524 won approval 273-47. The budget represents a decrease of 9.7% from the $1.3 million that Duxbury voters approved in 2025. Among other reductions, the budget reflects a drop in anticipated road repairs after several years of extraordinary efforts needed to address damage from floods and mud seasons.
The question on the tandem truck was approved 239-73, according to the election tally.
Voters also approved three other financial questions on the ballot:
Allocating $125,000 in surplus to the Capital Reserve fund, 269-45
Adding $20,000 to the Pavement Escrow Account, 282-32
Putting $80,000 into the Grant Escrow account, 239-69
Photo by Lisa Scagliotti
On the election questions, there were no contested offices on the ballot and no write-in candidates emerged to claim several positions for which no candidate was on the ballot.
As a result, all three Duxbury Selectboard incumbents were re-elected: Mari Pratt and Matt Schroeder to one-year terms with 258 and 286 votes, respectively; Gwenna Peters received 285 votes to serve the remaining two years on a three-year term. A fourth selectboard position for a three-year term did not attract a candidate. The seat was previously held by Jamison Ervin, who did not run for re-election this year. The board will need to recruit and appoint someone to that position to serve until March 2027.
The selectboard will also need applicants in the coming weeks to fill two vacant spots on the town Budget Committee until next March, given that no one ran for those offices on Tuesday.
Other candidates who were uncontested for their elections were: Dan Senning for one year as town moderator with 306 votes; Alan Quackenbush for lister, 290 votes, and Jessica Engles for Cemetery Commission, 293 votes, both three-year positions; Eric Potter with 300 votes for first constable and James Welch for second constable, with 302 votes, both being two-year terms.
Both of Duxbury’s representatives to the Harwood Unified Union School Board were unopposed for their election: Cindy Senning to another three-year term, and Emily Dolloff, who was appointed in 2025, to serve the remaining two years in her seat.
The Duxbury Selectboard will hold its organizational meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, March 9, in the town meeting room and via Zoom.