Candidates for political office may be known for speechmaking, but at Monday night’s Town Caucus, it was their supporters who did the talking.
When all was said and done, the crowd at the Town House duly nominated four candidates for two seats on the Select Board and three for two seats on the School Committee, and also re-nominated a member of the Housing Authority and the current Town Moderator.
After the installation of former Select Board Chair Michael Lawson as caucus chair and former Town Clerk Anita Tekle as caucus clerk, a cordial parade of registered voters lined up to speak on behalf of the candidates they support in the April 9 election.
For a three-year term on the Select Board:
- Christine Reynolds re-nominated current Select Board Chair Henry Dane for another term, calling the attorney “a smart, experienced, no-nonsense leader” as well as “an independent leader [who’s] never afraid to be the dissenting vote on difficult issues.”
- Colin Baughman rose to nominate neighbor, friend and businessman Joe Laurin. He highlighted Laurin’s “unwavering support and commitment to this community,” calling him “a champion for small businesses [who] advocates for [their] sustainable growth.”
- Robert O’Neil, Jr. nominated Cameron McKennitt, praising him for his “very extensive business experience. Most of that has been in strategy and consulting as well as finance, and I think that unique perspective would be a great asset to the town.”
- Alice Kaufman nominated retired healthcare executive Wendy Rovelli, citing her training as a mathematician and economist: “She’s honest and trustworthy, but she takes the time to really understand a problem before offering an opinion,” said Kaufman, who is a member of The Concord Bridge board.
For three-year terms on the School Committee:
- John Cratsley supported the candidacy of Personnel Board Co-Chair Elizabeth Cobbs, saying “she has a lot to contribute in listening, in accumulating facts, making fact-based decisions, collaboration and working hard for [the] future of our youth in Concord.”
- Susan Bates nominated Andrew Herchek, cheering him as having “the characteristics we want in a School Committee member who will help develop a policy that guides the education plan and evaluate components of a complex budget.”
- Matt Boger “exuberantly” nominated current School Committee Chair Tracey Marano for another term, lauding her as “a thoughtful, accessible, transparent, caring, open-minded, publicly available [and] dedicated elected official” with “skin in the game.”
Additionally, James Terry nominated Carmin Reiss for the responsibility of running Concord’s annual Town Meeting for another year, complimenting the town’s first female moderator as “well thought of” not only in town, but “all the way across the state.”
And Russell Robb III supported Edward Larner’s bid for a third five-year term on the Housing Authority, citing his education, professional career and military service: “He’s very engaging, but he’s very thorough and very meticulous, and I know that he’ll do an excellent job.”
As customary, nominees did not make formal remarks in support of their own candidacies. In each case, nominators who are current members of town boards and commissions endorsed candidates on their own behalf, not as representatives of their organizations.
It’s not over yet: Concordians who were not nominated via the caucus but still want to run have until February 20 to gather the signatures of at least 50 registered town voters and deliver them to the Town Clerk.
The registration deadline to vote in the April 9 election is Friday, March 29 at 5 p.m. To register online, visit www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/ or find more information at concordma.gov/342/Town-Clerk.
The Concord Bridge will present more detailed information about all candidates for local office who ultimately qualify for the ballot.
