Russo won't pull papers for School Committee
Published on January 31st, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - School Committee Chairwoman Kristen Russo will not seek reelection this spring, the first-term educational board member confirmed on Tuesday night.
According to Russo, who made the announcement during a phone interview, while she very much enjoys her office, she wants to concentrate the majority of her energy on her growing family.
The Everett Street resident was initially appointed to the School Committee after David Sheils stepped down from his post over three-years-ago. After being elected to the post in her own right, her counterparts selected her to serve as the School Committee's Chairwoman.
"My family has grown by two more children [since I was elected]. And they're at the stage where they need me around a little more. It was a difficult decision to make, but I'm not going far," Russo said.
"It's a very tough budget season, and part of me feels guilty about not seeing things through. But I have to do what's best for my family at this point. And like I said, I won't be going far," added the Everett Street resident.
As of this Tuesday, seven Stonehamites pulled papers for the nine elected offices up for grabs during town elections scheduled for April 3.
According to Stoneham Town Clerk John Hanright, who will himself seek reelection this spring, interested candidates have until Friday, Feb. 9 to formally declare their intentions to run for office.
The nine elected posts to be decided this year, include:
Two Board of Selectmen positions, two-year terms;
One School Committee post, a two-year term;
The Town Clerk's office, a three-year term;
The Town Moderator's job, a two-year term;
Two Library Board of Trustee openings, three-year terms;
One Board of Health position, a three-year term;
and one Board of Assessor's post, a three-year term.
"The deadline is Friday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. to pull papers. And they have to return them [with all the required signatures] by Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 5 p.m.," Hanright explained.
"The election is April 3 and Town Meeting is on May 7. I'd also like to remind people that you have to be registered to vote [in order to participate in any of those venues] by March 14 at 8 p.m.," the Town Clerk added.
During the most recent election last year, where Stonehamites had six people running for the two Board of Selectmen openings alone, widespread interest was expressed by locals in running for elected office. Hoping to see the same type of interest expressed this year, as well as a significant turnout on election day, the Town Clerk encouraged citizens to throw their hats in the ring.
"This is the chance for people to run for elected office and try to do what they can to help out the town. Let's try to make our electoral process one that works in the best interests of Stoneham," Hanright said.
In what will be likely draw the most interest this year, from a voter's perspective, two positions are open on the town's Board of Selectmen. Veteran Selectman Tony Kennedy, as well as first-term incumbent John DePinto, have both signaled that they will run for reelection this April.
So far, no other candidates have pulled papers for that board.
According to DePinto, if reelected to his position, he plans to keep a keen-eye on the town's troublesome fiscal picture and to continue bringing forward a number of proposals to Town Meeting. Last year, the certified public accountant unsuccessfully tried to transfer the Retirement Board over to the state, a measure that the Rebecca Lane resident believes could save the town a considerable sum of money.
"I haven't had much success at Town Meeting with the Retirement Board and Emerald Court [warrant articles]. But I plan on coming back with some of those things, hopefully in a way that people will pass them," said DePinto. "I'd also like to work towards running a more efficient Town Hall."
According to veteran Selectman Tony Kennedy, he would also concentrate on Stoneham's budget and financial operations if elected to another term.
In addition, the Janice Lane resident hopes to continue reaching out to residents seeking a little help in maneuvering their way through Town Hall, especially in circumstances where confused citizens need a little assistance in navigating through some proverbial red tape.
"I just want to continue helping out with the budget crisis and in identifying revenue sources and expense savings," Kennedy commented. "More importantly, I want to continue helping citizens who call looking for assistance. I've helped a lot of people over the years and I'd like to continue that."
According to Hanright, he also has a list of things to accomplish if he's chosen to serve another term, such as continuing his office's primary mission of maintaining records and holding smooth elections. Since the Town Clerk has assumed office, he's steered the town through a number of federally mandated election regulations, such as the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) that was implemented after the Florida voting irregularities in the 2000 presidential election. Hanright also plans to continue expanding his offices workload in order to accommodate for some of the budget cuts implemented over recent years. Since Stoneham first started encountering serious fiscal problems, the Town Clerk has volunteered to take-on a number of tasks, such as managing the Common Victualler's licenses from the Selectmen.
So far, the only challenge in the election is being made at the Board of Health level, where former Calthea Street resident Mat Whooley will take on incumbent Ben DiRusso.
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