Published March 21, 2019

By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — At precisely 5 o’clock Tuesday, Town Clerk Barbara Stats had certified the last of the nomination forms turned in by candidates seeking to get on the ballot for the May 7 town election before the deadline.

The good news is there will be at least one candidate running for each of the eight seats up for renewal.

Officially there will be only contested race on the ballot. Three candidates are pursuing one of the two available seats on the School Committee for three-year terms.

Incumbent School Committee Chairman Janene Imbriano is running for her third consecutive three-year term. The two other candidates are both newcomers to local politics. They are Tracy A. DeGregorio and Chris Pappavaselio. Five-term School Committee member Mel Webster officially retired from the board on Monday as he is moving from town (see other story).

Select Board

There will also be turnover for both available seats on the Select Board with the official retirement of three-term Chairman Michael Prisco and five-term Select Board member Bob Mauceri in just over 40 days.

However, there are two candidates who have been officially certified to run for the two available seats, Liane R. Gonzalez and Richard F. Wallner. Coincidentally, both of these candidates had run for the seats three years ago when it was a four-way race against the then-incumbents Mauceri and Prisco.

Gonzalez is currently a member of the North Reading Housing Authority. She has held the state-appointed seat on that body since Nov. 29, 2016. Her appointment runs through April 30, 2020.

In the 2016 election, in which 2,654 votes were cast representing just over 12% of the electorate, Prisco topped the ticket with 682 votes, Mauceri placed a close second with 638, Gonzalez garnered 552 votes, and the fourth candidate, Richard Wallner, tallied 474 votes. There were also 303 blanks and five write-in votes.

Another potential Select Board candidate, Andrew J. Lee, informed the Town Clerk’s office personally as well as the electorate, via a Facebook post, that his circumstances had changed and he regretfully would not be able to pursue the post at this time.

 Lee posted the following explanation for his withdrawal from the race:

Dear North Reading Community,

I will not be running for the Select Board this May. There has been an unexpected personal matter that may require me to relocate in the very near future.

The journey thus far has been very rewarding, but most importantly I learned a lot. It was a pleasure connecting with old and new friends of the community.

Thank you for all the support!

Sincerely,

Andrew J. Lee

CPC race

There are also two candidates for the two available three-year seats on the Community Planning Commission (CPC). Current Chairman and longtime member Warren R. Pearce Jr. is seeking re-election. Newcomer David L. Rudloff pulled nomination papers March 11 and returned them Tuesday so he will also be on the ballot. Rudloff was one of several people expressing interest in possibly being appointed to the seat vacated by Jonathan Cody Jan. 31 to fill out the remainder of that term until Election Day. However, the four remaining CPC members and the Select Board ultimately opted to hold off on such a short-term joint appointment so the seat is currently vacant until May 7.

A third candidate for CPC, Mark DeSimone, pulled papers on March 13 but informed the Town Clerk on Tuesday that he would not be returning them.

Moderator, Housing Authority

The two remaining incumbents will also be unopposed. Town Moderator John J. Murphy will seek his 15th consecutive one-year term and Housing Authority member James DeCola is seeking his second five-year term. DeCola retired last year as the town’s building inspector.

The last day any candidate can choose to withdraw his or her name from the ballot is Thursday, April 4 at 5 p.m.

Voter registration deadline

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.

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.