NORTH ANDOVER — There will be no contested races on the ballot when Election Day arrives Tuesday, March 26, in North Andover.
There are two seats open for the School Committee and two seats available on the Select Board. There is also an open position for town moderator.
For Select Board, Janice Phillips is running for reelection while business owner Dave Kres is seeking the open seat.
During her last three years on the select board, Phillips and other members worked to purchase the 400 Great Pond Road property to protect the town’s watershed. She also noted her work in implementing the facilities’ master plan, with work taking place at the North Andover Middle School and soon at the Kittredge School.
Looking ahead, Phillips said she wants to make a “robust downtown” a priority, especially since she is on the board of the North Andover Merchants Association.
“That deep knowledge and appreciation for our diverse community informs my perspective on Select Board,” Phillips said. “I am committed to continuing the hard work to do what is best for our community.”
Business owner Dave Kres is running for the other seat on the North Andover Select Board. Kres said he is running to be a “common sense voice for improvement.” He is running on the theme “Your Voice, Our Future.”
Kres is a partner at Rosa & Kres and a co-owner and cofounder of Buyers Brokers Only, one of the country’s largest exclusive buyer agency real estate firms.
“North Andover has been a phenomenal place to live and raise our kids,” Kres said.
“I would love to give back and use the skills I have developed to identify issues, discuss them with my constituents, hear their voices, weigh all sides and use my position to help deliver the best results for the future of North Andover.”
The race for School Committee features an uncontested race with Ed Moscovitch and Kelly Cormier on the ballot.
Moscovitch was a consultant to the Massachusetts Business Alliance for Education. He helped to draft what later became the Education Reform Act of 1993.
The legislation affected many aspects of kindergarten through 12th grade education, including educator licensure, professional development, vocational education, charter schools, school budgeting and technology utilization.
In 2005, he cofounded the Bay State Reading Institute (BSRI). The Massachusetts non-profit worked with 90 elementary schools across the state, primarily focusing on high-poverty cities and towns to help teachers improve instruction as well as assist principals in becoming effective leaders.
“Schools are about giving our students the best possible education, so it will also be helpful to have on the committee someone with deep experience in moving schools from good to excellent,” Moscovitch said.
Cormier is running for School Committee following her six years within the education space during her 30-year management consulting job.
She has served as the director of consulting at both Blackboard and Educate Online. During that time, she worked with kindergarten through 12th grade schools to implement reading and math remediation programs. Cormier also worked with higher education institutions to prepare for accreditation and enable online class experiences.
She has served as a member of the North Andover Planning Board and was the inaugural chairperson of the North Andover Master Plan Implementation Committee.
“Focusing on education and the community conversation necessary to build a solid foundation for my own and all children’s education is both a family and community priority,” said Cormier, who moved to North Andover in 2012.
Town Moderator Mark DiSalvo is running for reelection. He is a four-term incumbent.
He said he has worked to allow participants more of a chance to voice concerns and better understand issues before the town meeting. Under the ethics rules DiSalvo, the CEO of Sema4, created for the town meeting, all speakers are required to declare any financial interest of their own or family members.
North Andover is the only community in Massachusetts that requires such disclosure, he said.
“The presiding officer should be particularly careful that the well-intentioned financial contribution of a supporter could taint the proceedings — or more importantly, the institution of Town Meeting,” DiSalvo said. “I have pledged to be fair and open in all my dealings and this is just another way of especially ensuring that very promise.”
Election Day is Tuesday, March 26. To find out where your polling location is, visit sec.state.ma.us/WhereDoIVoteMA/WhereDoIVote.
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