By MAUREEN DOHERTY

NORTH READING — With six days remaining until the deadline to submit nomination papers to get on the ballot for the annual Town Election, none of the candidates had been certified before the Transcript went to press Wednesday.

A minimum of 50 signatures of registered voters in town is required, although it is always recommended to submit extra names just in case any signatures are rejected.

This week the Transcript caught up with political newcomer Jack Carroll of 40 Main St., Apt. 21. He said he plans to turn in his nomination papers by the end of this week with the required signatures to run for the three-year seat on the Select Board. It would be his first run for elective office.

Asked why he is running, Carroll said, “One thing I noticed with the Select Board is I don’t see these people in town so they don’t feel accessible to me.”

Another reason he gave for throwing his hat into the ring was the betterment bylaw previously proposed as an option to fund the town sewer project. “That got me very much involved because I live right on Main Street where this proposed sewer project would have taken place,” he said, noting that the betterment bylaw was reverted back to its original language at Monday night’s Special Town Meeting.

“I also felt that a platform of change and bringing young blood into the system would be really good,” he said, in addition to “being more accessible to the people.”

Carroll is a 2022 graduate of North Reading High School. He is 18 years old and if elected he would be taking a seat on the board the same month that he turns 19. He has lived in town since he was 2 years old.

Carroll was attending Fitchburg State University majoring in professional writing but says it did not feel like the right fit for him so he has taken the semester off to “go in a new direction.” He has also worked at Ocean State Job Lot on Main Street since October of 2021.

“I write stories, I am a songwriter and I am a singer in a band currently,” he said.

Nomination papers and candidates’ packets can be picked up at the office of Town Clerk Susan Duplin in Town Hall, 235 North St., during normal business hours, Mondays–Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Fridays, 8 a.m. – 1 p.m. On the nomination deadline day next Tuesday, March 14, the Town Clerk’s office will remain open an extra hour, until 5 p.m., to accept nomination papers from the candidates.

Those with any questions on the Town Election process may call Duplin’s office at 978-357-5218 or visit the Town Clerk’s page on the town website at northreadingma.gov.

This is the odd year in the town election cycle when only one seat is up for reelection on each of the town’s three five-member boards – Select Board, School Committee and Community Planning Commission.

The position of Town Moderator is reelected annually.

The four incumbents listed below have taken out nomination papers in addition to Carroll.

The positions on the ballot in 2023 are:

SELECT BOARD

One three-year term. The incumbent is current Select Board Vice Chair Vincenzo Stuto, 122 Elm St.

SCHOOL COMMITTEE

One three-year term. The incumbent is current School Committee Chair Scott T. Buckley, 5 Alden St.

COMMUNITY PLANNING COMMISSION

One three-year term. The incumbent is current CPC Vice Chair Christopher B. Hayden, 20 Swan Pond Rd.

TOWN MODERATOR

One one-year term. The incumbent is John J. Murphy, 13 Duane Dr.

Voter registration deadline

The last day residents may register to vote in the May 2 Town Election is Saturday, April 22, 2023. Town Hall will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day. Residents may also register to vote online or check their voter registration status online via the secretary of state’s website.