ANDOVER — A 24-year-old man plans to challenge two incumbent selectmen this spring in the annual town election.
Will English, an Essex Street resident and 2003 graduate of Andover High School, is a member of the Andover Youth Foundation and Andover Housing Partnership.
English and incumbent selectmen Ted Teichert and Brian Major have taken out nomination papers with the town clerk, the first step in running in the March 24 election.
All candidates must return their papers to Town Clerk Randy Hanson by Feb. 3.
In choosing to run for office, English said he has drawn inspiration from State Rep. Barry Finegold, D-Andover, who launched his political career as a selectman in his early 20s.
"People want someone new with fresh ideas, who can come in fresh and really bring things together," said English, who works as a bartender in Boston and has an interest in working as a nonprofit fundraiser.
After graduating high school, English studied history and philosophy at Kings College in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he served as the president of student government.
English said he will bring passion, commitment and experience to the Board of Selectmen.
"I really want to give back to the town that gave me a lot," said English. "I have the time to really commit to it."
The three candidates vying for the two open selectmen seats said that balancing Andover's 2010 operating budget will be the biggest issue in the election.
"The solution is not to increase taxes," said Major, now in his fourth term on the board after first getting elected in 1997. "The solution is to make the appropriate cuts and try to maintain the excellence of services we're now providing ... It's really to stretch every dollar as far as we can."
Major, 43, a resident of Odyssey Way, is married with four children.
He works for Philips Healthcare in Andover in a customer service role
Teichert, 47, a Dustin Road resident, is also married with four children.
The current chairman of the board works as a regional sales manager for hamburger company Bubba Burgers, and was first elected as a selectman in 2000.
Teichert, a 1979 graduate of Andover High, said he has the necessary experience to serve the community in a time where a tough economy is affecting people locally.
"I feel it's an important time to run right now," said Teichert. "I have a real understanding of what the community's all about."
Two people have taken out nomination papers for School Committee - incumbent Arthur Barber and newcomer Annie Gilbert.
Gilbert, 44, is vice president of the Andover Coalition for Education, a private group that has raised roughly $250,000 for the public schools in the last three years.
She is also a board member of Parent To Parent, a nonprofit group that organizes a free speaker series for Andover parents, and is involved at Phillips Academy and Bancroft Elementary School, where two of her three children go to school.
Gilbert, a stay-at-home mother, said she has a wealth of experience both in the classroom and at a district-wide level.
"I think every one of these experiences has given me a unique perspective on what our schools need," said Gilbert. "More than anything else, my years spent in all those different capacities has shown me how important communication is in fostering credibility in what the School Committee does and what the school department does."
Barber, 57, a resident of Sparta Way, was elected to the School Committee in 2003 and reelected in 2006. He is married to a kindergarten teacher at South Elementary School and has two grown daughters that attended Andover public schools.
Barber has a doctorate in education and is certified teacher and school administrator.
He teaches at the Portsmouth Navy Shipyard, and is also an adjunct faculty member at York County Community College in Wells, Maine and at Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth, N.H.
Barber said it is the School Committee's job to get the most out of tax dollars.
"I feel my experience is valuable in this fiscal crunch," he said.
Also up for reelection is School Committee member Tony James.
When asked if he would take out papers for reelection, James would not to comment. James is in his second term on the School Committee. He was first elected to the committee in 2003 and was reelected in 2006.
