NORTHAMPTON — A vocal at-large member of the School Committee said Tuesday he will not seek another term in the fall election.
“I just need more time for my other work,” Nathaniel Reade said. “In the last month it’s become clear to me.”
Reade is a writer who owns a communications business, Bellows Group, with his wife. He’s also busy helping his son, Henry Reade, 17, write and publish a series of comedy adventure novels. The books, “The Pencil Bandits,” are about outlaw brothers who end up heroes.
Though the father-son duo has one hardcover book available, Reade said much work remains in order to get the latter three on shelves.
“We’ve written four young adult books,” he said. “They’re his — I help him to some extent.”
Reade said he’s proud of the work the Superintendent John Provost and School Committee have made in recent years.
“I think we made some good progress, for which I can take very little credit,” he said. “The superintendent has made some really positive changes, so I feel good about that.”
With Reade out of the running, so far there are two people — incumbent Molly Burnham and newcomer Susan Voss, a Smith College professor — gathering nomination signatures for two at-large seats.
Reade aside, all but one of the sitting committee members have taken out nomination papers. Downey Meyer, a schoolteacher who represents Ward 7 on the committee, said Tuesday he plans to run but simply has been tied up with end-of-year school papers to go to City Hall to get the nomination papers and begin collecting signatures.
Meyer was forced to run as a write-in candidate during the 2013 election after missing the city’s filing deadline due to a last-minute collision between his car and a moose while his family headed back from vacation in Maine.
“I’m intending to take out papers and am cognizant of the deadline,” Meyer said. “I do intend to go back for another two years if people will vote for me.”
Two people have taken out papers for the Ward 6 seat: incumbent Lonnie Kaufman and Tom Davidson. Kaufman won his current spot in April when the City Council and School Committee jointly elected him to fill a vacancy suddenly left by the resigniation of Tom Baird. Kaufman won 10 votes in that election, and Davidson earned 7.
Interested parties have until July 27 to take out nomination papers and gather the required signatures. Though it’s early in the campaign season, most of the races are so far uncontested.
As for Reade, he said he may again run for public office. He said he’d attribute that decision not to any political ambitions but to a need in the community.
“It’s not about politics for me — it’s about service,” he said. “I still have a lot of signs in my garage and I haven’t thrown them out, yet.”
Amanda Drane can be contacted at adrane@gazettenet.com.