Published February 21, 2019
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — In the past week, no new candidates have stepped forward to pull nomination papers for the May 7 town election and none have yet been returned to be certified.
All potential candidates have until Tuesday, March 19 at 5 p.m. to return nomination papers to the Town Clerk’s office, with 50 certified signatures of registered voters who reside in North Reading, to assure their name will be included on the ballot.
To date, incumbents who have pulled papers are: School Committee Chairwoman Janene Imbriano, who is seeking her third three-year term; Town Moderator John J. Murphy, who is seeking his 15th consecutive one-year term; and Housing Authority member James DeCola, seeking his second five-year term.
Newcomers to the race are Select Board candidates Andrew J. Lee and Liane R. Gonzalez. Gonzalez is a member of the North Reading Housing Authority who holds the state-appointed seat. Lee, a graduate of NRHS, is a West Point graduate who served two combat tours overseas and was honorably discharged with the rank of Army captain after 8 1/2 years of service.
There are two open seats on the Select Board, both for three-year terms, as both incumbents, Chairman Michael Prisco and Select Board member Robert Mauceri, announced in January that they would not be seeking re-election this year.
There remains one unchallenged seat on the School Committee as incumbent Melvin Webster is not seeking re-election after 15 years. He is retiring and moving from town.
The Community Planning Commission (CPC) has two seats up for renewal. Incumbent Chairman Warren Pearce has not yet announced his intentions. Incumbent Jonathan Cody moved from town recently and therefore cannot complete his current three-year term so there is an immediate vacancy until May 7 for his seat.
The CPC and Select Board are currently seeking candidates for a joint appointment to be made in March to fill Cody’s seat until the election. Letters of interest are due today, Thursday, February 21 at 4 p.m.
Election basics
The deadline for all 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. Town Clerk Barbara Stats advises all 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.
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. An asterisk is listed beside the names of those incumbents who have announced that they will not seek re-election
• 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.
