Andover's local election season 2014 is underway, and a local attorney has pulled papers to run for School Committee.
Joel G. Blumstein of Athena Circle is the first to pull papers for School Committee, which has one seat up for grabs because Committee Chairman Dennis Forgue is not running for reelection.
"I have two teenage daughters, so I've really gotten involved in difficult education issues and really feel I have a good appreciation for some of the challenges we face in Andover as a top-rate school system," Blumstein said.
Blumstein's daughter Samantha is a Freshman at Andover High School. His other daughter, Katie, is a junior at Cambridge School of Weston.
For the past three years, Blumstein has been a parent representative on the School Improvement Council and has been involved in discussions about the proposed S.T.E.A.M. charter school.
Blumstein also said his 35 years practicing law would benefit the committee. An environmental attorney, he headed up a group of attorneys at the regional Environmental Protection Agency for 32 years, helping to enforce environmental law.
"I really feel like I could make a contribution as a member of the School Committee," Blumstein said. "I have lots of experience in having to weigh complex and competing factors and make sound judgements based on that. Thats clearly what we face in Andover. We have difficult decisions to be made."
The election will be March 25. Deadline to submit nomination papers is Feb. 4.
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