Candidates for select board, school committee announce campaigns

HANOVER — Ahead of the town election May 16, residents are announcing their campaigns as several select board and school committee terms expire, along with terms for other committee and board positions.

In-person voting will take place at Hanover High School from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Voter registration is open until May 6, and requests for an absentee ballot are due May 15.

Two select board terms expire; only one member seeks re-election

The terms of Select Board Chair Rhonda Nyman and Member Vanessa O’Connor will expire this year, leaving two spots open in the election.

Nyman, who has served on the select board since 2020, will not run for a third term, as she has launched a campaign for a spot on Plymouth County’s commission. Commissioners hold the highest positions in county government, and Nyman will challenge incumbent Sandra Wright, who has served as a commissioner since 2010 and was recently sworn in as chair of the commission.

Nyman ran unsuccessfully for commissioner in 2024, losing to incumbents Gregory Hanley and Jared Valanzola.

O’Connor seeks re-election to a third term on the select board, and her nomination papers have been certified. She is an attorney and has held leadership roles in the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association and the Massachusetts Bar Association Membership Committee, according to a post by the official Hanover Facebook account.

James Hoyes, an independent contractor who has served as the town’s budget director since 2024, has pulled papers for a seat on the select board and is in the process of collecting nomination signatures. Before entering his current contract, he was a member of the advisory committee for six years. He said that he became involved in town government after retiring from a leadership role in a pharmaceutical company.

As of publication, O’Connor and Hoyes are the only two candidates that the town clerk has announced for the two open seats.

Three candidates vie for two school committee seats

School Committee Chair Peter Miraglia is campaigning for a third term on the committee. He is also the vice chair of the traffic safety committee, according to Hanover’s website. He previously worked for Draper, a nonprofit research and development company.

Jaclyn Jorgensen is seeking re-election to a second term on the school committee. 

Hanley Scott is campaigning to fill one of the opening positions. 

Town clerk announces other committee, board campaigns

Since February 9, the town clerk’s office has announced four other campaigns. 

Douglas Thomson’s nomination for re-election to a one-year term as the Town Moderator have been certified, and the town clerk has announced no other candidates for the position.

David Traggorth has pulled papers for re-election to a five-year term on the Planning Board.

Diane Sawin’s papers for re-election to a three-year term on the Board of Health and Pimhatai Koslowsky's nomination papers for re-election to a three-year term on the Board of Library Trustees have both been certified.

Joseph Kennedy's term on the Board of Assessors is expiring, but no candidates have pulled papers for the position.

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