Thursday, March 22, 2007 Older Editions

Hailing distance to the finish

By Brian Messenger

Poll workers in Andover shouldn't be bored next Tuesday.

With 15 candidates for office, political watchers are expecting the highest turnout in years for the annual town election.

"This is many, many more candidates than I've had, and in important races," said Town Clerk Randy Hanson. "We may have 25 percent (turnout), and we'll welcome more."

Hanson said voter turnout had been down between 14 and 15 percent in the last several town elections. But with five candidates running for town moderator and another five battling for two positions on the Board of Selectmen, the variety of choices on the ballot is expected to bring more people to the polls. There are also contested races for the School Committee and Andover Housing Authority.

Residents can vote at Andover High School's field house, at 80 Shawsheen Road, beginning at 7 a.m. on March 27. The polls will remain open until 8 p.m. Parking and entrance to the polling station is accessible at the back of the AHS field house.

For the first time in nearly three decades, Andover will have a new moderator this spring, after longtime position-holder Jim Doherty decided not to run for a 30th time.

The town moderator runs Town Meeting and appoints members to the Finance Committee.

Candidates for moderator this spring are Doherty's daughter, Sheila Doherty, 53, Larry Morse, 60, Kenneth Ozoonian, 57, Eric Nadworny, 53, and David Samuels, 44, currently a member of the School Committee.

Samuels has spiced up the race by proposing a multi-year plan to reorganize the roles of those involved in the budget process (see related story, at left).

With two open seats on the Board of Selectmen, five candidates have also been running this year to fill those spots as well: incumbent Chairman Alex Vispoli, 49, and challengers Mary Carbone, 68, Don Robb, 69, Frederick Livingstone Jr., 49, and Jerry Stabile, 47.

Last week, the Andover Patrolmen's Union made news by endorsing Robb and Stabile, a decision it said it has never taken before.

Along with Selectman Ted Teichert, who has relatives that work for the town, both Robb and Stabile have family employed by Andover Public Safety.

Robb has a son on the police department, while Stabile has two brothers who are firefighters. Robb also has a daughter who teaches at Andover High School.

For School Committee, incumbent members Debra Silberstein, 47, and Richard "Dick" Collins, 75, join challenger Robert Coffill Jr., 50, in the race for two seats. They are involved in an unusual situation, as they will vote in a field house named after one of the candidates. The field house was dubbed the Richard Collins Field House last year, and the town expects to cover signs with Collins' name on them during the election.

For Housing Authority, Jan Burkholder and David Linquist will vie for one open seat. Burkholder has been filling that seat on an interim basis.