It's Final: Three Candidates Each For Selectman, School Com

by Tim Wood

            CHATHAM --- There will be races for both school committee and board of selectmen in the May 15 annual town election.

             Three candidates for each office turned in nomination papers by the Thursday deadline.  Stephen Buckley, V. Michael Onnembo and Leonard Sussman will run for the one available three-year term on the board of selectmen, left open by the decision of Douglas Ann Bohman not to seek another term. 

           Incumbent Jeffrey Dykens, Sue Linnell and Brian O’Keefe will be on the ballot for two three-year terms up for election on the school committee. 

            Incumbent Whitney H. Burr will be unopposed for the single seat on the housing authority in this year's election.

            Former planning board member Thomas Doane took out nomination papers for selectmen but said Tuesday he does not plan to run.

            “I’m not prepared,” he said, “and that would be very unfair to the people.”  He did not rule out running for the office in the future.

            Linnell said she was inspired to run for school committee after participating in the school department’s five-year strategic plan workshop. “I enjoyed that whole process, and I wanted to follow it through,” she said.  She’s pleased with how the plan has been implemented thus far, and would like to see it remain on target.

            Originally from Acton, where her mother served on the school committee for a dozen years, Linnell attended Bates College and graduated from Lesley University with a master’s degree in early childhood education.  She moved to Chatham in 1990 to work at the May School.  She and her husband Matt, a commercial fisherman, have two daughters who attend third and fifth grade in Chatham.  She has been on the elementary school council for four years and is a member of the elementary principal search committee.  She is also vice president of Women of Fishing Families, the group that sponsors the town’s Maritime Festival.

            It’s important for the school system to retain the quality that makes it attractive to School Choice students, she said.  She’s concerned that students in the middle and high school grades sometimes leave the system for schools with more diverse offerings or larger sports programs.  The system needs to promote its small size, which makes it “practically a private school,” she said.

            Nonetheless, Linnell said she thinks the school system is well run.  “I just want to be part of its growth, and make a difference,” she said.

            O’Keefe, co-owner of Campari’s Restaurant, has long promoted the schools by hosting fundraisers at the North Chatham eatery for sports teams and other programs, such as the We The People team. “Now it’s time to get in the circle, and look at the whole system,” he said, adding that he is interested in boosting school spirit and getting the community more involved in the schools.

            Among the issues that concern him are ensuring a good middle school sports program, so kids are prepared for high school-level sports, and ensuring that School Choice students are engaged academically.  He suggested a screening system for choice students, “to make sure students really want to do well and excel.”

            O’Keefe has a bachelor’s degree from Anna Maria College in Paxton, where he played basketball and tennis. “I’ve always had a huge passion for sports,” he said.  He’s lived in Chatham for six years. This is his first run for public office, though public service runs in his family.  He said his father served on the school committee in Stowe for about 10 years.

3/28/08