Voters in Andover and North Andover headed to the polls for town elections on Tuesday amid ongoing school-related protests and anger over past and current decisions.
Andover voters chose to oust the two School Committee incumbents in the town’s only contested race. Christopher Shepley and Jacob Tamarkin unseated School Committee members Emily DiCesaro and Sandis Wright for two, three-year terms.
Unofficial reporting showed Tamarkin received the most votes at 1,579.
Just 17 points separated the other three candidates. Shepley had 1,485 for the second highest total while DiCesaro followed 12 points behind him at 1,473 votes. Wright received 1,468 votes.
Shepley and Tamarkin had garnered the endorsement of the Andover Education Association in February after 90% of its members voted to support the two newcomers. The endorsement followed considerable unrest in town over contracts for teachers and teachers’ assistants that led to a strike.
Shepley, an Andover High School graduate of 2024, previously ran for a spot on the committee in 2024. Tamarkin, a CEO of a startup, was a first-time candidate.
In Andover, it was a slow, but steady flow of voters who filed into the field house at Andover High School to cast their votes. The high school was one of three polling locations for the town election.
The School Committee was the only contested race on the ballot and brought people out to the polls to narrow down the field from four to two.
Voters headed to the polls either for or against the construction of a new high school in town and that factored into which School Committee candidates they supported.
Maura McCurdy Santiago said she took into account financial responsibility and the candidates she felt would best support the students and teachers.
She has two children in elementary school. McCurdy Santiago added she was a vocal parent during the teachers strike in 2023 and stressed there were two candidates on the ballot who sat on the present School Committee left over from that cycle. They both lost.
She said the high school was on her mind as well, recognizing the high school needs improvements, but not at a steep price tag.
“I don’t know if $450 million is the answer for a new high school,” McCurdy Santiago said. “For me, the most important thing is teachers and support staff. We don’t necessarily need a new state-of-the-art high school.”
Lindsay Leavitt, meanwhile, said she supports the construction of a new high school and voted based on the candidates she felt would help push the project along. She was also concerned about class sizes in Andover when casting her vote.
Leavitt has three children under the age of 8 years old and said she wants them to have a brand new school to go to when they enter high school. Leavitt said decisions made now will impact their future.
“Let’s do it now so they will benefit,” Leavitt said.
In the Andover uncontested races, Town Moderator Sheila Doherty won reelection to a one-year term.
Select Board member Melissa Danisch and Vice Chair Alex Vispoli both ran for reelection in an uncontested race for two Select Board seats.
Steven Pekock ran for a three-year term on the Trustees of the Punchard Free School. There was no declared candidate for the one-year term on the Punchard.
Jennifer Hoenig won an uncontested five-year term with the Andover Housing Authority.
North Andover write-in candidate
In North Andover, the flow of voters was steady as well, but turnout has steadily dropped over the last six elections. Town Clerk Dawne Warren reported in the unofficial elections results, the town saw a 5.8% turnout with 1,280 voters casting a ballot at the polls.
But Warren said it’s always great to see people show up to the polls, regardless of whether there are contested or uncontested races.
North Andover had two, uncontested races with one candidate running for Select Board and one for School Committee.
In the unofficial election results from Tuesday night, Select Board member Rosemary Connelly Smedile ran unopposed for reelection and received 888 votes. Write-ins for the seat totaled 130.
School Committee Vice Chair Joseph Hicks was the only candidate printed on the ballot for one, three-year term and garnered 821 votes. Write-in votes for the School Committee seat were 334.
While supporters of Hicks stood at the corner of the high school’s entrance campaigning during polling hours, there were signs earlier in the day for a write-in candidate for School Committee.
Shannon Gately, a senior state government affairs specialist, had launched a last-minute write-in campaign. She is a parent of a student at Kittredge Elementary School.
“I would have liked the time for a real campaign, but unfortunately due to many events over the last few months and this week, I feel we had no choice,” Gately said in a social media post on Sunday.
On Friday, the school district had sent notices of layoffs to 40 staff throughout North Andover Public Schools amid budget cuts and a proposed $68.2 million budget for fiscal year 2026.