MassVoter.com← AquinnahMunicipal votes · 2026–2027 Board
Aquinnah Select Board
How the Aquinnah Select Board voted, from the Select Board’s official minutes. 3 Select Board members elected townwide. At the June 2, 2026 reorganization Tom Murphy became Chair and Christopher Manning Vice Chair. Minutes loaded through June 2, 2026 (the newest the town has posted). Covers 1 meetings so far, June 2 to June 2, 2026.
A monthly email on what it voted on, starting in November.
What does the Select Board do? It is the town’s executive board. It prepares the Town Meeting warrant (the list of articles voters decide), appoints members of many town boards, hires the town’s top staff, signs warrants to pay town bills, and grants licenses and permits.
Town Meeting, not the Select Board, votes the town budget and town bylaws.
Sources: Massachusetts Select Board Handbook (MMA) · Mass. Division of Local Services: the town budgetYour Aquinnah ballot: 13 quizzes, about a minute each.
Start my ballot →Vote Transparency Score
Aquinnah Select Board: 4 out of 10 · Hard to see
How easy Aquinnah makes it to see, online, how each member votes. It scores the town’s records, not any official. Checked October 4, 2026.
- Minutes postedMinutes are posted for most, but not all, of the past year’s Select Board meetings.Part points: 1/2
- Each vote namedSome votes give a count such as “3 in favor, 0 opposed” and name anyone who abstained, but about half of the decisions are recorded only as “the Board voted to…” or in an item heading, with no count or names.Part points: 1/3
- Posted quicklyMinutes are posted months after the meeting, if at all.No points: 0/2
- Past years onlineSelect Board minutes from 2017 to today are online.Full points: 1/1
- Readable textThe minutes are text you can search and copy.Full points: 1/1
- Member photosThe Select Board page has no member photos.No points: 0/1
How the town can raise its score
- Minutes posted (+1): Post approved minutes for every meeting on the town website. Don’t require a sign-in to view them.
- Each vote named (+2): On any vote that isn’t unanimous, write how each member voted. For example: “Motion passed 3–2. Yes: Smith, Jones, Lee. No: Brown, Silva.” A roll call on split votes is the simplest way to do this.
- Posted quickly (+2): Post minutes within 30 days. If approval takes longer, post a draft marked “Draft – not yet approved” and replace it later.
- Member photos (+1): Show a photo of each member on the board’s web page, with their name, the date their term ends and how to contact them. A group photo of the members, with everyone named in the caption or on the same page, earns half a point.
How we score · Something wrong, or has the town made a change? Email info@massvoter.com and we’ll re-check.
A monthly email on its votes, starting in November. We'll also tell you if this score changes.
Board years
Coming up
MassVoter can’t read Aquinnah’s meeting calendar automatically yet. See upcoming meetings on the official site →
What Town Meeting decided
In Aquinnah, Town Meeting — not the Select Board — votes the town budget, bylaws and zoning. Here is what it did with each article, in the Town Clerk’s own words. Any registered voter can take part, and most votes are by voice or show of hands, so there is no list of who voted which way.
Annual Town Meeting · May 14, 2024 18 votes: 17 passed, 1 passed as amended
- Art. 3 Raise and appropriate the FY2025 operating budget and set salaries of elected officers and employees Passed “PASS: YES · TOTAL 66 – 57 YES, 6 NO, 3 ABSTENTIONS”
- Art. 4 Rescind earlier votes on Parcel 59 (Map 5) and declare it available for disposal; direct Select Board to dispose of the land Passed “PASS: YES · TOTAL 69 – 49 YES, 17 NO, 3 ABSTENTIONS”
- Art. 5 Exempt town land at Map 6, Parcels 25.1 and 25.2 from town zoning (amended to refer to Planning Board, non-binding) Passed as amended “PASS: YES · TOTAL 71 – 60 YES, 9 NO, 2 ABSTENTIONS”
- Art. 6 Take $5,500 from available funds to pay unpaid contract obligations to Atlantic Construction Passed “PASS: YES · Total 69 – 62 YES, 6 NO, 1 ABSTENTION”
- Art. 7 Take $250,000 from available funds for repairs to town hall, fire station and Aquinnah Circle comfort station Passed “PASS: YES · Total 70 – 66 YES, 3 NO, 1 ABSTENTION”
- Art. 8 Appropriate $39,411.27 in FY2025 Chapter 90 state aid for highway work Passed “PASS: YES · Total 65 – 64 Yes, 0 No, 1 Abstention”
- Art. 9 Authorize cancelling outstanding taxes on land owned by the Gay Head Baptist Church Passed “PASS: YES · Total 68 – 59 Yes, 7 No, 2 Abstentions”
- Art. 10 Amend the Island Housing Trust ground lease at Carl Widdiss Way to add an easement for accessible parking Passed “PASS: YES · Total 70 – 61 Yes, 5 No, 4 Abstenstions”
- Art. 11 Transfer $50,000 from available funds to the OPEB Stabilization Fund Passed “PASS: YES · Total 72 – 60 Yes, 7 No, 5 Abstentions”
- Art. 12 Raise and appropriate $5,000 for MVC transportation engineering services in FY2025 Passed “PASS: YES · Total 49 – 41 Yes, 6 No, 2 Abstentions”
- Art. 13 Take $2,400 from available funds for FY22 and FY23 unpaid wages due the Fire Chief Passed “PASS: YES · Total 70 – 63 Yes, 6 No, 1 Abstention”
- Art. 14 Transfer $50,000 from the Waterways Fund to dredge the West Basin Harbor entrance Passed “PASS: YES · Total 69 – 68 Yes, 1 No”
- Art. 15 Accept G.L. c. 44, s. 55C to create an Aquinnah Affordable Housing Trust Fund Passed “PASS: YES · Total 70 – 58 Yes, 9 No, 3 Abstentions”
- Art. 16 Establish the Affordable Housing Trust Fund and its board, and add the trust bylaw to the General Bylaws Passed “PASS: YES · Total 51 – 42 Yes, 5 No, 4 Abstentions”
- Art. 17 Reserve FY2025 Community Preservation revenues ($280,000 projected) among CPA reserves and admin costs Passed “PASS: YES · Total 50 – 47 Yes, 2 No, 1 Abstention”
- Art. 18 Appropriate $227,400 in CPA housing funds (Island Autism Group, rental assistance, IHT projects, Carl Widdiss Way apartments) Passed “PASS: YES · Total 57 – 51 Yes, 5 No, 1 Abstention”
- Art. 19 Appropriate $85,000 in CPA historic funds: ACC archives $35,000, Grange Hall $10,000, Gay Head Light lantern room $40,000 Passed “PASS: Yes · Total 52 – 49 Yes, 2 No, 1 Abstention”
- Art. 20 Appropriate CPA open space funds: $125,000 Town Center playground and courts, $55,500 Aquinnah Circle mortgage costs Passed “PASS: YES · Total 60 – 53 Yes, 5 No, 2 Abstentions”
Source: Town Clerk's minutes of the May 14, 2024 Annual Town Meeting.
Not here yet: the May 2025 and May 2026 Annual Town Meetings and any Special Town Meetings held since January 2024 (the town posts minutes only for the May 14, 2024 Annual Town Meeting, and its 2024 and 2025 Annual Town Reports print only the warrants, not the results).
Titles are short descriptions of each article from the official record; the quoted words are the Town Clerk’s. A vote at Town Meeting is not the final word on everything: some articles also need a ballot vote (such as a tax override) or the Attorney General’s approval (bylaws).
Members
ChairTom MurphyChair · Elected townwide · at 1 of 1 meetings
Vice-ChairChristopher ManningVice-Chair · Elected townwide · at 0 of 1 meetings
Julianne VanderhoopMember · Elected townwide · at 1 of 1 meetings"At X of Y meetings" counts the members the minutes list as present at the start of each meeting in this record. Members who step out are listed on each meeting page.
Attendance
10 full-board meetings so far this year, through June 2. Ties share a rank.
1Tom Murphy10 of 10 meetings Every meeting100%2Christopher Manning9 of 10 meetings90%2Julianne Vanderhoop9 of 10 meetings90%18 full-board meetings in 2025. Ties share a rank.
1Tom Murphy18 of 18 meetings Every meeting100%1Christopher Manning13 of 13 meetings · served from May Every meeting100%1Gary Haley5 of 5 meetings · served until Apr Every meeting100%4Julianne Vanderhoop16 of 18 meetings89%20 full-board meetings in 2024. Ties share a rank.
1Tom Murphy19 of 20 meetings95%2Gary Haley18 of 20 meetings90%2Julianne Vanderhoop18 of 20 meetings90%22 full-board meetings in 2022. Ties share a rank.
1Tom Murphy22 of 22 meetings Every meeting100%2Gary Haley20 of 22 meetings91%2Julianne Vanderhoop20 of 22 meetings91%From the official minutes: full-board meetings only (committee meetings are not counted). Members are counted only for meetings held while they served, and arriving late counts as attending. The minutes rarely say why a member was absent. Not shown: 2021, 2023, because too many of that year’s meetings are missing from the posted minutes.
A monthly email on its votes and who was there, starting in November.
Meetings
About missing minutes
Loaded: Select Board minutes from January 5, 2021 through June 2, 2026, from the town website (the town had not posted anything newer as of October 4, 2026). Executive session minutes are not included. Aquinnah’s minutes are written as a story of each item rather than a formal vote list. When they give a count such as “3 in favor, 0 opposed” or say a motion passed “unanimously”, every member present is shown voting yes, and members who abstained are shown by name. Many decisions are recorded only as “the Board voted to…” or in the item’s heading, with no count or names; those show the result only. Several files the town posted under June–December 2021 dates are copies of other meetings’ minutes, so those meetings are missing. We will ask the town about these.
Votes where members disagreed
Most board votes are unanimous. These are the ones where at least one member voted no or abstained, newest first.
Jun 2Approved recommendation of Town Administrator to wait for Agreement…Motion: Approved recommendation of Town Administrator to wait for Agreement signed by…Passed · see note
June 2, 2026: Approved recommendation of Town Administrator to wait for Agreement signed by Petkus
Approved recommendation of Town Administrator to wait for Agreement signed by Petkus
The minutes record this decision only in the item’s heading (“Approved recommendation of Town Administrator to wait for Agreement signed by Petkus”), with no count or names, so only the result is shown.
From the minutes
“(Approved recommendation of Town Administrator to wait for Agreement signed by Petkus).”
Jun 2Accepted invitation of Tribal ChairmanMotion: Accepted invitation of Tribal ChairmanPassed · see note
June 2, 2026: Accepted invitation of Tribal Chairman
Accepted invitation of Tribal Chairman
The minutes record this decision only in the item’s heading (“Accepted invitation of Tribal Chairman”), with no count or names, so only the result is shown.
From the minutes
“(Accepted invitation of Tribal Chairman).”
Jun 2Appointed Jay MacLeodMotion: Appointed Jay MacLeodPassed · see note
June 2, 2026: Appointed Jay MacLeod
Appointed Jay MacLeod
The minutes say the board voted or acted but give no count and no names, so only the result is shown.
From the minutes
“Without much discussion the Board appointed Jay MacLeod to the Dukes County Programmatic Advisory Committee..”
From the Aquinnah Select Board’s official minutes, posted on the town website. We check every vote against the members present and quote the exact wording. MassVoter never grades or scores officials. Photos: Christopher Manning (Sarah Shaw Dawson) and Tom Murphy (Nikeya Tankard), The Martha’s Vineyard Times; Julianne Vanderhoop (Amber Bettencourt, The Martha’s Vineyard Times, 2017); Gary Haley (Ray Ewing, Vineyard Gazette).
How to read these pagesWhere the votes come from, how we check them against the official minutes, what isn't included yet, and how to report a mistake.About city pages →