11 Candidates File For Andover's 2022 Election

ANDOVER, MA — Andover is shaping up to have another hotly-contested School Committee election, with five candidates on the ballot for two open seats — and neither incumbent running for re-election.

At Monday's deadline, 11 residents had filed to run in the 2022 town election, nearly half vying for a seat at the table overseeing Andover Public Schools.

There will also be a contested race for town moderator, featuring a rematch from prior years. But the Select Board and Punchard Free School Trustees races are uncontested, with two candidates filing for two seats on each board.

As of Wednesday, Feb. 2, the following candidates are running. Incumbents are italicized.

• Town Moderator – 1 seat, 1-year term
  • Sheila Doherty
  • Keith Saxon
• Punchard Free School – 2 seats, 1 1-year term and 1 3-year term
  • 3-year term: Dawn Gillette
  • 1-year term: Chip Gregory
• School Committee – 2 seats, 3-year term
  • Sandis Wright
  • Emily DiCesaro
  • Jo A. Thorlin
  • Erin Cash
  • Shishan Wang
• Select Board – 2 seats, 3-year term
  • Melissa Danisch
  • Alex Vispoli

No one filed to run for the open seat on the Trustees of the Cornell Fund

The moderator race sees long-time incumbent Sheila Doherty facing Keith Saxon again. Saxon previously ran against Doherty in 2018 and 2019 and considered running in 2020. In other years, she has run unopposed.

Both School Committee incumbents, Paul Murphy and Shannon Scully, opted not to run for re-election, leaving the race wide open. Shishan Wang has run for the committee in the past, but the other four candidates are newcomers.

The last day to withdraw from the ballot will be Feb. 17. The registration deadline is March 2. The town clerk's office can be reached at 978-623-8230. The office is located at the town offices, 36 Bartlet Street.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.

An earlier version of this story misspelled a candidate's name. It has been corrected.