By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Would you like to know the views of the five School Committee candidates on the issues of importance to you that affect education and our town’s schools?
Would you also like to hear from our town’s newest voters — the students at North Reading High School who are old enough to vote on May 3 yet aren’t decades removed from the schooling that the town provides to its students?
Then the North Reading Candidate Forum on Wednesday, April 13 will be an event not to be missed in this election cycle!
A group of student and adult volunteers have teamed up with the North Reading Transcript to present a non-partisan forum – to be moderated by Editor Emeritus Bob Turosz – and streamed live by NORCAM over social media, as well as Comcast Ch. 22 and Verizon Fios Ch. 24, from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
In addition to questions posed by the NRHS students, a dedicated email address has been set up for anyone from the public to submit their questions for consideration by the students. The address is: NRCandidateForum@gmail.com.
The deadline to submit questions is next Wednesday, April 6, to provide the students adequate time to review them for possible inclusion in their slate of questions.
In addition to the questions posed to the candidates during the Forum, each of the five School Committee candidates will be afforded time for opening and closing remarks.
Although the other offices in the Town Election are uncontested, every candidate has been extended an invitation to attend the Forum. They will also be given an opportunity to introduce themselves to the community and speak briefly about the issues pertinent to their respective offices.
Bob Turosz has over four decades of experience reporting on the town’s politics during his tenure at the Transcript from the mid-1970s to his retirement in 2016. He also has experience attending and participating in the candidate forums previously run by the local chapter of the League of Women Voters and the subsequent organizations in town after the League stopped running them.
No live audience will be present during the Forum so be sure to tune in to the live stream via https://norcam.org/vod.htm or Comcast 22 or Verizon Fios TV 25.
The candidates for School Committee in the Town Election are: John P. Barrette, 2 Dogwood Ln.; Jodi Cloney, 365 Park St.; Jeffery L. Friedman, 51 Lindor Rd.; Kristen M. Omara, 5 Damon St.; and Noelle Rudloff, 29 Duane Dr.
The candidates for the other offices on the ballot are: Select Board incumbents Liane R. Gonzalez, 4 Clover Rd., and Richard F. Wallner, 57 Lakeside Blvd.; Community Planning Commission incumbents Warren R. Pearce Jr., 219 Haverhill St., and David Rudloff, 29 Duane Dr.; incumbent Town Moderator John J. Murphy of Duane Drive; Housing Authority incumbent Michele Mawn, 5 John Bickford Way; and Housing Authority newcomer Sherri Greer, 8 Voke St.
