Published January 31, 2019
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Two more candidates for elective office have pulled nomination papers for the May town election, bringing the number of declared candidates to four within two days of the official start of the 2019 campaign season.
Current School Committee Chairwoman Janene Imbriano made her candidacy for re-election official upon pulling nomination papers last Wednesday morning, January 23, after the Transcript had gone to press. Imbriano is currently completing her second three-year term on the board. She was first elected to the board in 2013.
Andrew J. Lee, a 2009 West Point graduate and 2005 alumnus of North Reading High School, pulled nomination papers last Thursday, January 24 to run for one of two open seats on the Select Board. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Military Intelligence Corps, he served in the Middle East, in both Kandahar City, Afghanistan and on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border as part of Operation Enduring Freedom during the 2010 surge. In 2017, he was stationed in the Republic of Korea commanding a 75-member multi-discipline regional intelligence company. Lee was honorably discharged with the rank of captain after 8 1/2 years of service and now works in the financial industry. A newcomer to politics, Lee is married and the father of an 18-month-old daughter.
In a statement Lee said he has chosen to run for the Select Board because, “The town of North Reading has provided me great childhood memories, hence my decision to bring my family back here. The town and the North Reading Public School system invested in me and I believe it’s time for me to invest back and serve the Hornet community.”
They join incumbent Town Moderator John J. Murphy and incumbent Housing Authority member James DeCola in declaring their candidacies.
The position of Town Moderator is up for renewal annually, which is the shortest term of all the elected offices on the May 7 ballot. Murphy was first elected moderator in 2004 and is seeking his15th consecutive term.
Retired building inspector James DeCola is running for his second consecutive five-year term on the Housing Authority, which has the longest term of service among the elected offices in the annual town election.
Three incumbents have chose to step end of their current terms. They are Select Board Chairman Mike Prisco, Select Board member Bob Mauceri and School Committee member Mel Webster.
First elected in 2010, Prisco has served for three consecutive three-year terms. Mauceri and Webster were both elected to their respective seats in 2004 and have served five consecutive three-year terms.
Election Day: May 7
The basics: Election Day is Tuesday, May 7 and the deadline for candidates to return their nomination papers to the Town Clerk’s office is Tuesday, March 19 at 5 p.m. The Town Clerk’s office will remain open an extra hour on the deadline day to accept the nomination papers.
All candidates are required to obtain a minimum of 50 signatures from town residents who are registered to vote in the town of North Reading to be eligible to be included on the ballot. Therefore, Town Clerk Barbara Stats advises candidates to submit more than the minimum number of signatures required because her office is unable to certify signatures that are “duplications, illegible or ineligible.”
Once a candidate is certified as eligible to run for an elective office, the last day that candidate can choose to withdraw his or her name from the ballot is Thursday, April 4 at 5 p.m.
Register to vote
The last day a resident of the town can register to vote to participate in the May 7 annual town election is Wednesday, April 17 at 8 p.m.
Elective offices for 2019
Eight seats on four boards plus the town moderator’s seat are up for election this year. The names of incumbents are listed in parentheses.
• Two seats for three-year terms on the Select Board (Robert Mauceri and Michael Prisco);
• One seat for a one-year term for Town Moderator (John Murphy);
• Two seats for three-year terms on the School Committee (Janene Imbriano and Melvin Webster);
• Two seats for three-year terms on the Community Planning Commission (Warren Pearce and Jonathan Cody)
• One seat for a five-year term on the Housing Authority (James DeCola).
Candidates for any municipal office are required to file campaign finance reports on specific dates per the provisions of Mass. General Laws Chapter 55. Those with questions about this process may contact the state’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance for assistance by phone: 617-727-8352, email: ocpf@cpf.state.ma.us or visit the website at www.mass.gov/ocpf.
For additional assistance the public may also call the Town Clerk’s office at 978-357-5218.
