Town Moderator – Did you know?
The Town Moderator is the presiding officer of the Town Meeting, regulates its proceedings and performs such other duties as may be provided by general law, by Charter, by bylaw or by other Town Meeting vote. The Town Moderator is elected for a term of three (3) years.
The Town Moderator shall, as part of an appointing committee composed of the Moderator, Board of Selectmen and Town Clerk, appoint members of the Appropriations Committee, and shall make any other appointments provided for by this Charter, by bylaw or by general laws.
The current Town Moderator is Thomas J Garabedian who was elected in 2016. The previous Town Moderator was Dr Bruce G Karlin who held the position for over 20 years, 1995-2016.
To run for Town Moderator a person must be a registered voter in Hopkinton and either obtain and submit nomination papers by securing the signatures of 50 Hopkinton registered voters; or a person may qualify by being the top vote getter in one of the town political party caucuses; or a combination of both. Town Moderator is currently an unpaid volunteer position, but compensation for any elected official could be voted on at any future town meeting.