Two more candidates dropped out of their races last week, leaving the three-person contest for two seats on the Board of Selectmen as the only remaining competitive race in this spring’s Town Election (Ron Ricci bowed out of the BOS race Tuesday, Feb. 14.)
John Mark Walker of Granite View Lane, who was nominated as a candidate for School Committee at Town Caucus, will not be on the ballot. Walker withdrew from the race in late February, leaving two candidates—incumbent SusanMary Redinger and newcomer John Ruark—for the two open positions on the committee.
Asked why he had initially accepted the nomination, Walker said he had heard there was an opening and was interested in taking part in town government. But, he said, he had not realized it would be a contested race, and he expects his business schedule to be heavy in the coming year.
“I can bow out knowing that the position on the committee will be in good hands,” he added, saying he knew that Ruark was already active in support of the schools.
Walker said he and his family have lived in Harvard for almost four years, and he remains interested in volunteering for town committees. Instead of running for School Committee, he said, he was filling out papers for a position on the Community Preservation Committee, whose members are appointed by the selectmen.
The second candidate to withdraw was Paul Green of Old Littleton Road. Seeking to welcome new faces to run for office in the 2017 Town Election, Green said he wanted to leave Shannon Molloy of Stow Road a clear running field for a vacant Warner Free Lecture Trustees seat. “When I found out Shannon Molloy was new to town politics, I decided to step aside,” said Green.
Green is now freed up to continue his work on the Energy Advisory Committee, with Congregational Church committees, and as part of the group organizing the upcoming town cleanup. Neither Green nor Molloy was nominated at Town Caucus; both submitted nomination papers to the town clerk before the Feb. 14 deadline.
The three selectmen candidates are incumbent Ken Swanton of Fairbank Street, current chairman of the selectmen; Kara Minar of Still River Road, currently chairwoman of the Planning Board; and newcomer Ed Moussouris of Park Lane.
The League of Women Voters will hold a candidates forum at 7 p.m., Monday, March 20, in Volunteers Hall at the library. Town Election will be held Tuesday, April 4, three days after Annual Town Meeting.
Laura Vilain contributed to this article.
