The main event of the 2025 local election on March 25 will be a four-way race for two open seats on the Andover School Committee.
Christopher Shepley, who ran unsuccessfully in a five-way race for two open seats last year, and Jacob Tamarkin, a first-time political candidate, will challenge incumbents Sandis Wright and Emily DiCesaro, who are both seeking a second three-year term after first being elected in 2022.
Tuesday was the deadline for candidates to submit nomination papers to be placed on the ballot. Voters, however, still have time to get in the race: the deadline to register to vote in the annual town election is Saturday, March 15.
Select board members Alex Vispoli and Melissa Danisch and Moderator Sheila Doherty are running unopposed for reelection. No candidates returned nomination papers for open seats on the Punchard Free School Board of Trustees and the Andover Housing Authority.
Get election and other local news every weekday. Sign up for our newsletter.
Shepley, who graduated from Andover High School last year, is running on a platform calling for more transparency and fiscal responsibility from the school district, which is currently wrestling with a $1.9 million budget deficit. He also wants the school committee to repair relationships with educators, who he says are often “unheard and undervalued.”
Tamarkin, who has spent his career in finance, is also running on a platform centered on addressing the budget deficit and an “unusual enrollment decline.” The issues are “the kind of challenges that I am well-equipped to solve after my experience from a twenty-year career on Wall St and as a co-founder and CEO of an innovative investor-backed startup,” according to his campaign Facebook page.
Highlights from Wright’s first term include supporting APS social emotional learning initiatives, backing the in-progress literacy audit as well an equity audit and security assessment. He supported eliminating certain student fees, as well as funding to cover cost overruns during the construction of the new West Elementary School and Shawsheen Preschool.
DiCesaro, who moved from Chicago in 2013 and settled in Andover in large part because of the schools, said she helped implement a data-driven approach to support teachers with timely data during her first term, as well as working to improve school committee informal forums. She also said the committee’s creation of a budget advisory council and a redistricting advisory council were highlights of her first term.
Who’s on the ballot?
Candidates for reelection are marked with an asterisk (*).
Moderator
Choose one candidate for a one-year term.
Sheila M. Doherty *
Select Board
Choose two candidates for three-year terms.
Melissa Danisch *
Alex Vispoli *
School Committee
Choose two candidates for three-year terms.
Emily DiCesaro *
Sandis Wright *
Christopher Shepley
Jacob Tamarkin
Housing Authority
Choose one candidate for a five-year term.
No candidates.
Punchard Free School Trustees
Choose two candidates for three-year terms.
No candidates.