The deadline for the submission of valid signatures for candidates in the upcoming Dracut municipal elections has passed.

There are two incumbents for Selectman, one incumbent School Committee member, one incumbent Library Trustee, and one incumbent Housing Authority member, all have submitted the required signatures that will allow them to be on the ballot. All municipal offices will be unopposed.

This is not good for the future of Dracut. Elections allow the voters to choose those whom they would like to represent them at town hall. Without contested elections there are no choices to be made.

Obviously, there is a serious lack of interest in running for public office in Dracut.

Is Dracut satisfied with the current pool of elected town officials or is it something else?

One current sitting Selectmen, who is up for re-election, would say that “Dracut is in great shape right now”!

Of course, she would. She doesn’t want opposition to her re-election!

Many residents & taxpayers think otherwise, and this writer is one of them.

The toxic political environment of Dracut has been well documented for many years. Opponents to the establishment are terrorized by those who seek to extend their political stronghold on local government. Lambasting potential opposition candidates in Dracut is a blood sport.

One alleged political writer is like a pit-bull on a hambone to anyone who dares to oppose his wife or her allies! He writes vile political “hit pieces” with a vengeance. Excoriating anyone who dares to stand up with good government ideas or might suggest a better way of doing things.

Why would anyone want to get involved with local politics in Dracut, only to have their good name assassinated and being dragged through the political mudslinging?

I know, firsthand, how bad it can be! I also know the effect it has on your family and friends.

I ran for Selectman and experienced the vile brown envelope mudslinging that occurs both in the public eye as well as in the dark backside of Dracut politics. I lost my first foray in Dracut politics.

But I also beat the odds the next time out and was elected to 3 consecutive terms. Garnering enough votes to be the top vote getter in those successful races. It wasn’t easy and it takes a toll on the candidate, their family, and their friends.

I am not alone!

Take for example a friend who ran for Selectman. She was a very successful professional who got the bug to run for public office. She didn’t need to be involved with Dracut politics, but she believed that she would bring a lot of good ideas and a professional approach to the Board.

She also was the recipient of the disgusting dark side trash mudslinging that is Dracut politics.

But she too was a strong vote getter. She topped the ticket in her second try and was elected and then was re-elected. She served 2 terms and retired, on her own, with a great record of success.

But the scars of success in Dracut politics, if you are not the “Good Ole Boys” candidate, are everlasting.

Another friend, a lifelong Dracut resident, with extensive involvement on many volunteer town committees, for many years has repeatedly been a candidate. Only to be defeated by the power-hungry dirty political machine that rules Dracut. He is an intellectual with plenty of municipal knowledge and presents himself as a professional with great innovative ideas and a high degree of morals. It is thought by many local political observers that he is the most eminently qualified candidate to never get elected.

But those lacking professional experience, ethics and intellect are frightened by someone smarter than them.

Their brand of dirty politics has worked in town elections because municipal elections occur on a Saturday in May when most of Dracut’s 19,000 registered voters have not awakened from their winter slumber. Those who vote in spring elections are usually voters with special interests who want to “keep” the status quo. Unfortunately, most of our voters are young professionals with busy work schedules who do not pay attention until it’s too late.

I believe that the cesspool of Dracut politics will never change until there is change in the way we elect our town leaders. Maybe changes like Lowell recently made.

Elect town officers in a more fair and “equitable” manner. Instead of town selectman and School Committee members being elected “at Large” town wide, elect them by districts or neighborhoods to ensure a more balanced representive approach. All elected for a three-year term and not on a staggered basis. Including term limits!

Now that would be “radical”! Save tax dollars on town elections every year and “break” the political stranglehold the “Good Ole Boys” have on the town!

Not something Dracut’s current pols would ever entertain.