Nomination papers for open positions on the elective town boards and committees were due to the town clerk earlier this week. As of the deadline at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, six people had filed their papers for the eight open positions. Only one office—that of town moderator—has two candidates competing for it.
While the deadline has passed for candidates to get their names on the printed ballots, it is still possible to run as a write-in candidate in any race. Assistant Town Clerk Andrew Sammarco said people who are planning write-in campaigns are not required to inform the town clerk’s office. However, he said it would be helpful to do so. The clerk’s office would then be able to inform election workers about the candidacies.
In a rematch of last year’s race, both incumbent Bill Barton and challenger Brad Besse are running for town moderator. A Town Meeting vote in 2022, which was affirmed in 2023 by voters at Town Election, amended the Harvard Town Charter and changed the moderator’s term from one year to three years. The change takes effect with the person elected to the position this year.
SusanMary Redinger is running unopposed for an opening on the Select Board. Current board member Erin McBee said she decided not to run for another term, as she has joined the board of the National Elder Law Association and expects that position to demand more of her time.
Redinger served 12 years on the School Committee, which she chaired for six years. In June 2023 she stepped down from that committee and took a one-year break from elective office. However, she remained an active member of the Harvard-Devens Jurisdiction Committee. In an email to the Press, Redinger cited her experience on the School Committee, which she said allowed her to understand “the challenge of how to maintain a balance between growth and the preservation of our beautiful, bucolic setting, which goes hand in hand with managing taxes without cutting services.”
The Harvard Public Library board of trustees has two open positions. Incumbent Jennifer Manell is running for her third term, having served on the board since 2018. “I hope to continue advocating for literacy, community engagement, and community spaces,” Manell wrote in a text.
Laurie Wright Lingham is seeking the other library trustee position. Lingham, who has lived in Harvard since 1996, has worked at corporate, public, and school libraries, including two years at the Harvard Public Library and six at the Hildreth Elementary School. “My lifelong enthusiasm for libraries has never diminished,” she wrote in an email. “They play a vital role in our democracy.” Lingham will be running as a write-in candidate, as she missed the deadline for turning in nomination papers.
The School Committee likewise has two openings for which two candidates are running. Liz Joyce is running for a full term, after having been appointed to the committee last October when Sharlene Cronin stepped down. Katharine Covino-Poutasse is running for a seat that opened when Shannon Molloy decided not to run for another term.
In a brief phone interview, Joyce said she enjoyed working with “the amazing group of people” on the School Committee. She noted the Bromfield School ranks third in Massachusetts, according to the U.S. News & World Report ratings, which puts pressure on the committee to maintain that high level of performance.
Covino-Poutasse moved to Harvard in 2010 and has served on both the Bromfield and Hildreth Elementary school councils in that time. She has taught English at levels from middle school to college. “I believe we should be supportive of administrators and teachers who strive for continuous improvement,” she wrote in an email to the Press. “There is no reason that the schools should be doing the same things they’ve done for the past 30 years. That is not the standard in any other industry, and it should not be the way we approach teaching.”
Two members of the Warner Free Lecture board of trustees, William Salter and Stephen Peisch, have terms that expire in June. Michael Kilian, chair of that board, told the Press that both are willing to serve another term, but they have not filed nomination papers. “I take the blame,” Kilian said, for not reminding them about the need to do so. Instead, the three plan to organize write-in campaigns for the open positions.
