Crowded 7-Person Field Set To Vie For 2 Danvers Select Board Seats

DANVERS, MA — A crowded field of seven candidates will vie for two open seats on the Danvers Select Board in the May 6 annual town election.

The deadline for submitting papers to be on the ballot was on Tuesday, with the ballot placement taking place on Thursday.

According to the town clerk's office, incumbent Daniel Bennett submitted signatures for re-election, with six challengers on the ballot, including former Select Board member Gardner Trask.

Michael Baxter, Sandy Franceschini, Kevin Berich, Natalie Lara Fiore and Mark Lentine are the other candidates to be placed on the ballot on Thursday.

The only other race with a contested election is the School Committee, where incumbent Gabe Lopes is being challenged on the ballot by Maxwell Rudin.

The vote-by-mail application deadline is April 29 at 5 p.m.

Early voting will take place on April 26 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Toomey Room at Town Hall at 1 Sylvan Street.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day, when all precincts will vote at Danvers High School, located at 60 Cabot Road.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)