By the end of this month, Westbrook residents will learn who will be on the ballot for the November elections. Town political parties will have their slates announced by the end of the month.

Though you won’t see any fanfare of it on the national stage, 2021 is still an important election year for Westbrook residents. Westbrook voters will formally learn which candidates will be on the November ballot at the end of July. The different political parties in town are working to finalize the official party endorsements which are due to the Town Clerk on Wednesday, July 28.

Both the Republican Town Committee and Democratic Town Committee will be holding their caucuses prior to that date.

At those caucuses the party formally nominates and endorses candidates for each seat. Should any member want to force a primary election of an endorsed candidate primary forms must be filled out by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 11.

This year, for the first time in nearly a decade, there will be some speculation as to who will be nominated at the top of these slates. Last month, current First Selectman Noel Bishop announced he would not seek an eighth term as first selectman. Westbrook Republican Town Committee Chairman Lee McNamar told the Harbor News last month that current Selectman John Hall will be formally nominated to be the Republican candidate for first selectman in the 2021 election.

While local elections can be overlooked when compared to presidential or midterm elections, they are still critically important to the day-to-day life of Westbrook citizens. Arguably, they could be even more important.

For example, some of the issues that will be determined by the 2021 election include who will be able to set town policies and determine the direction the town will go in by holding a majority on the Board of Selectmen. Voters will also elect the people who will determine the curriculum for students in the school system, the people who get to approve or deny prospective development in town, and the people who track town finances.

It’s likely that all of those positions will make policy decisions over the next term that will affect the lives of Westbrook residents for years to come.

Per the town clerk, the seats that will be contested this fall include the first selectman plus the two seats on the Board of Selectmen, the town clerk, the tax collector, the town treasurer, three Library Board of Trustees members, three Board of Education members, two Board of Finance members, and one member each for the Board of Assessment Appeals, Planning Commission, Zoning Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals.