Town Caucus: Two Candidates for School Committee, None for Housing Authority

Election season has officially begun in Concord.

After Monday night’s annual Town Caucus, candidates have been nominated for Town Moderator, the Board of Selectmen and the School Committee, but one is still needed to fill a five-year term on the Concord Housing Authority.

One candidate was nominated for each the Town Moderator’s position and the Board of Selectmen, while two residents received nominations to fill a single opening seat on the School Committee.

The Candidates

Town Moderator Eric Van Loon was nominated for re-election to his position as the moderator, a position he has kept since winning a contested election in 2010.  

Michael Lawson, a former Finance Committee member and professor at Boston University, was nominated to fill an opening seat on the Board of Selectmen. Lawson, who was unable to attend the Caucus because he was teaching a course at BU, was nominated by Finance Committee member Lynn Salinger and seconded by Stanly Black, a former selectman.

For School Committee, both Wallace Johnston and Dave Garrison received nominations.

Johnston, a newcomer to town, was described as a candidate with experience and a commitment to excellent schools. Garrison, was introduced as a coach and tireless volunteer with financial experience as well.

Click through the videos above for samples of the nomination remarks for each candidate.

What’s Next

No candidates were nominated for the anticipated vacancy on the Housing Authority.

Anyone who is interested in filling that position—or running for any of the other offices—may still do so by taking out nomination papers at the Town Clerk’s Office, obtaining signatures from at least 50 registered Concord voters and submitting their papers by 5 p.m. next Tuesday, Feb. 4.

This year’s annual Town Election is scheduled for Tuesday, March 25.