By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — Candidates who wish to run for elective office in the town’s annual election on Tuesday, May 6 have until Tuesday, March 18 at 5 p.m. to return their nomination papers to the Town Clerk’s Office.
At least 50 certified town-wide signatures are required (per MGL c53, §7). Town Clerk Susan Duplin recommends that all candidates obtain more than 50 signatures in case some of those signatures are not certifiable.
As of press time Wednesday, no new candidates had come forward in the past two weeks to pull nomination papers, therefore, the current pool of potential candidates remains at nine.
The elective offices on the May 6 Town Election ballot are:
• Town Moderator, 1-year term – vote for one. (Incumbent is John Murphy.)
• Select Board, 3-year term – vote for two. (Incumbents are Liane Gonzalez and Richard Wallner.)
• School Committee, 3-year term – vote for two. (Incumbents are Jeffrey Friedman and Noelle Rudloff.)
• Community Planning Commission (CPC), 3-year term – vote for two. (Incumbents are David Rudloff and Warren Pearce.)
• Community Planning Commission (CPC), 2-year term – vote for one (to fill a vacancy created after Ryan Carroll moved from town last fall.)
• Housing Authority, 5-year term – vote for one. (Incumbent is Michele Mawn.)
Currently, incumbents who have pulled papers for the same offices they now hold are Town Moderator John J. Murphy, Select Board member Richard Wallner, School Committee members Jeffrey Friedman and Noelle Rudloff, Community Planning Commissioner Warren Pearce (3-year term) and Community Planning Commissioner Edward Sheehan (interim appointee running for the 2-year term).
Community Planning Commissioner Jeffrey Griffin has pulled papers for a seat on the Select Board. He has one year remaining on his first 3-year term on the CPC. According to Duplin, if he wins a seat on the Select Board he would have to resign from the CPC. (Please note that it was incorrectly stated previously in past weekly Transcript updates that Griffin was finishing up his first 3-year term on the CPC; his CPC term actually expires in May of 2026).
Two newcomers to local elective office are also seeking one of the two available seats on the Select Board, Michael Scarlata and Catherine Morrin.
Both Wallner and Scarlata have returned their nomination papers to the Town Clerk’s office and their signatures have been certified, Duplin stated, so they will be on the ballot. The Town Clerk’s office was in the process of certifying Friedman’s nomination papers at press time.
Those with any questions about any aspect of the Town Election may contact the Town Clerk’s Office for more information at www.northreadingma.gov/town-clerk/pages/voting-elections or call 978-357-5230.