Contests Afoot In Sudbury 2024 School Committee, Select Board Races

SUDBURY, MA — The deadline to file papers to run in the 2024 Sudbury town election passed on Friday, and 20 candidates have been certified to run for 17 seats across 11 governing boards.

The only two contested races in 2024 will be for two seats on the Sudbury Select Board, and two seats on the Sudbury School Committee.

In the schools race, two-term incumbent and committee chair Silvia Nerssessian has withdrawn from the race. Committee member Sarah Troiano, who won a special one-year term in the 2023 election to fill a vacancy, did not pull papers to run for a full term.

With a wide open race, four candidates are vying for the two seats, including Goodnow Library trustee Jean Nam, disability commission member Karyn Jones and Haynes Elementary school council member Mary Stephens. First-time candidate Richard Thalmann, who is the chief financial officer at Norwood's Tekscan, is the fourth candidate. Two other candidates pulled papers to run, but withdrew last week.

In the Sudbury Select Board race, longtime members Janie Dretler and Daniel Carty are back for new terms. Eric Poch, who ran for a Select Board seat in 2022, has also jumped into the race.

Although not a contested race, two seats on the Goodnow Library board will turn over, with members Lily Gordon and Natalie Schlegel not running for reelection.

Here's the full lineup of candidates running in the 2024 election, according to the League of Women Voters of Sudbury. The election will take place on March 25, almost three weeks after the March 5 presidential primary:

(i) = incumbent

Select Board (pick two)

• Janie Dretler (i)
• Daniel Carty (i)
• Eric Poch

Sudbury School Committee (pick two)

• Karyn Jones
• Jean Nam
• Mary Stephens
• Richard Thalmann

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee (pick two)

• Catherine Bitter (Lincoln) (i)
• Maura Carty (Sudbury)

Moderator

• Cate Blake (i)

Board of Assessors

• Joshua Fox (i)

Goodnow Library Trustee

• Megan Kelley
• Eriko Frank

Board of Health

• Linda Huet-Clayton

Park and Recreation Commission (pick two)

• Laurie Eliason
• Robert Beagan

Park and Recreation Commission

• William Atkeson (i)

Planning Board (two seats)

• John Sugrue
• Stephen Garvin

Housing Authority Commissioner

• Sherrill Cline (i)