LEVERETT— At least two School Committee seats and one Planning Board member are expected to change hands at the annual Leverett town election Saturday.
It will be held during the Town Meeting which begins at 9 a.m. at the Leverett Elementary School. Polls will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
The election process differs from other towns, because candidates are nominated directly from the floor of Town Meeting rather than through a separate process. That means unanticipated candidates can come forward the day of the election, according to Planning Board Chairman Jeff McQueen.
“Leverett is the last town where anybody can stand up in Town Meeting and nominate anybody else,” McQueen said. “It is an unrestricted, pure form of democracy we’re proud of, and that I hope lasts forever.”
McQueen will leave the board after serving for 26 years because he is moving to neighboring Amherst. McQueen, a longtime resident of Leverett, was initially elected in 1990. He said he is “sad to leave Leverett” after living there for 40 years.
McQueen declined to name the candidate who will run to fill his seat Saturday, but he said Richard Nathhorst, the other member of the Planning Board whose term expires is “very interested in running again.”
After more than two decades in office, McQueen said he is proud of the board’s work to protect rural land in Leverett, citing zoning which protects backlands, the Rattlesnake Gutter geological formation, and zoning which reduces building on hilltops.
“There is a strong desire in town to keep this a beautiful, rural community,” McQueen said.
Two School Committee seats will also be vacated. Members Kip Fonsh and Alan Mully, both at the end of their three-year terms, do not plan to seek reelection, according to Mully.
Mully has served on the school board for one term beginning in 2013. Although Mully did not attend the 2013 Town Meeting, he was nominated and said he decided to “give it a try” and accepted the position.
Mully said he will not seek reelection because of the time commitment that comes with holding public office. It is a demanding job, as members must be well-versed on the school system, unions and state mandates, he added.
According to Mully, the third School Committee member whose term expires, Audra Goscenski, plans to seek another term Saturday.
Other town officials planning to run for reelection include Assessor Thomas Mackza and Board of Health members Michael Fair, Chuck Dauchy, and Rich Brazeau.
Finance Committee members Steve Nagy and Phil Carter also will seek reelection and Library Trustee Georgiana Schmid will run for her fourth term after serving for roughly a decade.
Other candidates up for reelection are Constable Thomas Masterton, Library Trustee Elaine Barker, Select Board member Peter d’Errico, and Town Clerk Lisa Stratford could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.
In addition to electing public officials, the town will vote on allowing the Select Board to appoint the assistant moderator and tree warden positions rather than having them elected annually. Town meeting unanimously voted to allow those appointments last year, and the next step is to confirm that decision by putting it on the ballot.