By SANDY McGEE

BLACKSTONE — The town of Blackstone’s legal counsel has ruled in favor of allowing a recently-vacated Board of Selectmen seat to be placed on the ballot for the April town election.

he Board of Selectmen position was vacated after the resignation of Robert J. Kluchevitz on Wednesday. Kluchevitz stepped down from the Board of Selectmen after serving two years in office. His existing year of service is now up for grabs for any potential candidate.
Town officials were unsure at first if Kluchevitz’s vacated seat could be placed on the ballot in time for the town election on April 7.
If not placed on this April’s ballot, the town would have been required to hold a special election at a later date. The special election would have cost the town an extra $5,500, according to Blackstone Town Clerk Marianne E. Staples.
The town’s legal counsel, Patrick Costello, recently sent a letter to Blackstone Town Administrator Kenneth Bianchi, which states that the office may be placed on the ballot.
It is “possible to add the unexpired term of Mr. Kluchevitz’s vacant office to the ballot for the Annual Election on April 7, 2008,” wrote Costello in the letter.
“It is the board’s belief that it is the public’s right to choose that should always be the preferred path when considering a vacancy,” wrote Town Administrator Kenneth Bianchi in a statement sent on behalf of the board. “It (the ruling) provides the voters of our community the ability to fill the Selectmen’s vacancy at no additional cost. It allows the position to be filled and not remain vacant for the remainder of the term — one year period.”
Nomination papers are now available in  the town clerk’s office at the Municipal Center, 15 St. Paul St. Potential candidates will have until the deadline on Feb. 19 to obtain and return the papers with enough signatures to the town clerk.

Candidates are required to obtain 30 signatures in order for their name to be placed on the election ballot.
“We wanted to give every potential candidate enough time to gather signatures,” Staples said.
The vacated seat will be written as a separate race on the ballot, while two existing three-year terms are already scheduled to be placed, said the town clerk.
Candidates elected to Kluchevitz’s vacated seat will only serve a one-year term. He or she will be required to run again in the 2009 town election, said Staples.
The two other three-year terms, currently held by Robert J. Dubois and Constance D. Perreault, will also be written on the ballot as separate races. Both Dubois and Perreault are running for re-election.
Potential candidates are welcome to choose to run for the one year or three year term. However, state law prohibits a candidate to have their name placed on the ballot for more than one race. Therefore, candidates in this election will need to choose between the two offered terms.
“Potential candidates will have to choose what seat they will run for,” Staples said.
The deadline to withdraw from the race is March 5.
A former member of the Board of Selectmen, Charles Sawyer, picked up his nomination papers on Friday afternoon. Sawyer, 50, served on the Board of Selectmen from 1995 until losing in the 2007 election to Kluchevitz.
“I’m running,” Sawyer said. “I’ll have the papers returned on Monday morning.”
Sawyer, a retired employee of the U.S. Postal Service, said that he is running to assist the town with upcoming budget decisions.
“What we need is more people with eyes and knowledge to watch the finances both in town and the school district,” Sawyer said. “It’s very important for the Board of Selectmen to have five members, not four.”
Dubois, a longtime member of the Board of Selectmen, wished Sawyer well in his election on Friday afternoon. “He (Sawyer) shouldn’t have lost the last time,” Dubois said.