North Andover Election: Brown, Koenig Win School Committee Seats

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — The North Andover School Committee was getting two new members Wednesday regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's Annual Town Election.

But the unofficial vote count released by the Town of North Andover Tuesday night revealed that David Scott Brown and Alissa Koenig have won the two seats. The pair, along with the rest of Tuesday's winners, will be sworn in at a 5 p.m. ceremony Wednesday at Town Hall.

According to the unofficial results, with all eight precincts reporting, Brown received 1,635 votes, Koenig had 1,531 votes and Scott Dube received 599 votes.

A total of 2,215 votes were cast, which is 9.99 percent of the 22,177 registered voters in North Andover, according to town officials.

In a statement to Patch, Brown commented on the School Committee race and other races on the ballot.

"North Andover won in tonight's election," Brown told Patch. "As a community, we chose to elect leaders for the Select Board, School Committees, and Housing Authority that are committed to serve the families of North Andover. I am very appreciative of the support I received town-wide, showing that accountability and performance really do matter. That's what our town expects from our School Committee and what I intend to deliver. I am excited to begin that work immediately and to work alongside Alissa Koenig, who won the other seat this evening, and the returning Committee members. Alissa and I bring complementary skills and experience to our new roles."

Brown continued: "It is gratifying to see that the voters that came out today really showed that their interest is in having better performing and inclusive schools, and not promoting a particular ideology or trying to suppress or attack specific components of the curriculum.

"My thanks go out to all the voters and everyone that helped with my campaign. I also appreciate the effort Kevin Dube put in to run for office. Now it's time to get to work!"

In a Tuesday statement, Koenig thanked the community for its support during the election.

"I am honored to be elected to the North Andover School Committee," Koenig said in a statement to Patch. "I will do my part to use my perspective as a parent and advocate to keep the best interests of our students as my top priority. I take seriously the duties and responsibilities the community has entrusted me with."

Koenig continued: "As a parent and advocate I am very optimistic about the future of the North Andover school system. I am ready to work with Dave Brown and the current committee members as we strive to make our school system even better through transparency, accountability and advocacy to ensure an inclusive and safe environment for our students to excel to their highest potential."

There was little drama in the race for Select Board, where two candidates were running for two open seats.

According to the unofficial vote totals, incumbent Laura Bates received 1,633 votes, while Brian Edward Roache, the chair of the North Andover Community Preservation Committee, received 1,497 votes.

In the race for Housing Authority, Marsha Finkelstein (919 votes) earned a narrow victory over Jacqueline McGuire (842 votes) based on unofficial results.

Meanwhile, William Tarbox, who was running uncontested for the Greater Lawrence Technical School District Committee received 1,628 votes