ANDOVER — The Service Club of Andover held its 2026 Andover Candidates Forum at the Andover Safety Center on Thursday ahead of the town election on March 24.
Candidates running opposed and uncontested attended the forum as Service Club Executive Vice President Brad Heim moderated the event.
Candidates vying for an open seat on both the Select Board and School Committee answered questions and gave their positions on different issues. Candidates for unopposed races such as the Trustees of the Punchard Free School, town moderator and Andover Housing Authority also introduced themselves and why they were running.
Select Board race
The three candidates running for one, three-year term on the Select Board are incumbent Laura Gregory, Lawrence Bruce and George Thorlin. Bruce was unable to attend the forum.
Gregory has served on the board since 2017. She said she has been a “steady voice of reason” to represent all Andover residents during her time on the board and added her experience as an practicing lawyer is useful in the position.
Thorlin said he moved to Andover 39 years ago. He said he believes it is now his time to give back to the town that has provided so much to his family.
Gregory and Thorlin were asked several questions from the moderator and public. One question revolved around the board’s transparency with how it manages the evaluations of Town Manager Andrew Flanagan each year.
Gregory said the board continuously interacts with Flanagan on issues in the community. The board has a formal evaluation process and has increased the process when it extended his contract last year to include public input.
“I’d say the town manager is doing pretty well,” Gregory said. “We’ve been happy with him.”
She said it’s important that the evaluation is a reflection of the board as a whole and that there generally are differing opinions from members as they evaluate Flanagan.
“It is something that is done so as to improve the town manager’s performance and ensure that our concerns are reflected in his actions,” Gregory said.
Thorlin said he watched the board meeting when it voted to make changes to the town manager’s evaluation and was “amazed when four people on the Select Board voted not to have their individual appraisals published.”
He does not support a recent policy implemented by the Select Board to keep individual comments made during the evaluation process confidential and only release a composite evaluation.
Gregory clarified that the policy is new, but the action to keep comments confidential is not. Only one year she has been on the board has individual evaluations been provided publicly, she said.
He supported seeing individual board members’ comments and said it should be public information.
“To change that and to say that nobody else is Massachusetts does it that way just shows that not enough research is being done into the project,” Thorlin said.
Thorlin said if he’s elected, he would vote against the policy so “the people of Andover can make their own decisions and each individual Select Board member will give his evaluation and it will be public.”
School Committee race
David Crow and Timothy McCarron are the two candidates running for one, three-year term on the School Committee.
Crow appeared via Zoom from work in San Francisco as is a strategic account director. Crow said he’s lived in town for 13 years with his family. He decided to run because he said he believes the School Committee, and town, need student-centered leadership and transparency.
McCarron is a former School Committee member and high school principal. Crow participated in the selection of a new superintendent in both positions.
He said, if elected, his past experience can be used in securing the person that is the best fit for Andover.
Crow and McCarron differed on what they were looking for in a new superintendent and where the past two superintendents came up short.
Crow said the school district needs top executive leader who will best manage the budget. He said the school district has made good strides, but there have been breakdowns in communication adding the next leader needs to be someone with a vision who can inspire the people beneath them to do better for the students.
McCarron said the previous two superintendents, Magda Parvey and Sheldon Berman, had problems with communications. He stated one reason the Andover High School project failed at Town Meeting was a factor of poor communication.
He said the next superintendent needs to show gratitude and humility in the position, support other and not be the center of attention.
The two candidates were also asked about a new Andover High School and the improvement project to bridge the two’s gap.
Both agreed the third option presented by Town Manager Andrew Flanagan to update security and furniture at the school was the favorable option.
The two men also agreed a statement of interest to the Massachusetts School Building Authority should be submitted sooner than later.
Crow said there needs to be a long-term plan in place for the new high school, but support to help the current building.
He questioned why funds can’t be used out of the Capital Improvement Program instead of debt exclusion to pay for option three and get it approved at Town Meeting.
McCarron agreed and said as a former principal he supports efforts to improve safety and security.
Uncontested races
Andover has three uncontested races. Town Moderator Sheila Doherty is running unopposed for another one-year term. At the forum, she said while there are a few uncontested races.
Unopposed Trustees of the Punchard Free School candidate Emily DiCesaro and Andover Housing Authority candidate Daniel Grams also appeared at the forum.
Grams is running for his fifth term on the Housing Authority. It is a five-year term. The Housing Authority is located at two properties and manages about 200 units.
DiCesaro is running for one of the two open seats as a Punchard Free School trustee. DiCesaro, who previously sat on the School Committee, said she is running because she values the role in plays in support Andover schools and programs and ensure its fund are used thoughtfully.
Trustee of the Punchard Free School candidate Richard Padova, an incumbent, was unable to attend.
Doherty is running for reelection to moderate and run Town Meeting.
She highlighted while there are candidates running unopposed, she said it is still important for those who step forward to run for a position, whether opposed or not, to know if voters support them.
“There’s something to the affirmation of being elected, to people saying, ‘Yes, we do want you,’” she said.