Student Government Day Election Preview

Peabody High’s annual Student Government Day is back in action for the Class of 2016, who now have their shot at getting a feel for a variety of city positions. The events get underway far from now in the spring on April 14, but the process to get there begins tomorrow.

Described as “a citywide event in which PVMHS seniors shadow a city counterpart for the day and participate in evening activities at city hall”, the day is pristine timing to start thinking about the future as the road to graduation begins in the aftermath, the first of many closing senior events.

School committee, city council, and mayor winners will have the added benefits of participating in mock meetings at city hall on that day where proposals for improving the city can be made. Who knows how much consideration they’ll receive, but it can’t be a bad look to get ideas across in that environment.

Seniors often fall into two categories, those who have a vision for what they want to be past high school and those who have no clue. Government day provides an opportunity for those two groups to either spend time with an experienced city official in a position they strive for or find something they love.

Either way, the road towards Government Day begins tomorrow with the primary elections. For over a week now seniors have been nominating themselves for candidacy in positions from Mayor of Peabody to Fire Inspector, most of which only have room for one to fulfill.

The primary elections involve breaking down the races for each of the roughly 70 positions to at most two (unless otherwise noted) candidates. These take place tomorrow November 15 and Tuesday November 16.

From there we move on to the general elections, on Monday November 23 and Tuesday November 24, where winners will be awarded with their positions.

Polls open through student (@peabodystu.org) emails tomorrow morning at 7AM, but The Tanner Times gained early access to the ballot. Some of the candidates decided to make their case for why seniors should vote for them. Get a feel for who you’ll be voting for below.

Also note the spots with no candidates, those can still be claimed by anybody who isn't currently running for a position or those who end up losing their current election. See Mr. McCue for more details on that.

2016 Student Government Day Primary Ballot

Vote by 11:59pm on November 17

Vote for only one unless otherwise noted.

Animal Control Officer

Amanda Bradley Owen Brewster Rachael Couillard Katerina Kerastaris

Samantha King

Margarita Mantussova

Celina Muise

Kathaleeya Oth

Michael Smelstor

Faith Wilson

Assessor

Christopher Addario

Anna Church

Tori Lombard

Attorney

Gianna Chalmers

“My name is Gianna Chalmers and I'm running for attorney for student government day. I believe I'm qualified to represent the respect and intelligence of our senior class to the actual city attorney as well as learn more about the position. I'm highly interested in learning about being an attorney in the real world, I've taken mock trials two years in a row (even though the second year doesn't give me any credits) and I was even on the team that won the historical trial last year! Mock trials has really made me quicker on my feet, therefore I could easily adapt to doing a mock City Council/School committee meeting. I would really appreciate this opportunity, as I'm considering this profession, and a day of shadowing would really help me decide for my future. Thanks, for considering me, Class of 2016!”

Audrey Hardenstine

Craig Jordan

Gianny Medrano

Mandy Santa

Auditor

Olivia Sek

"I would like to be elected auditor because that is a possible career I want to pursue in the future and I think it would be a great opportunity to be able to shadow an auditor and get a chance to see how the job works and what goes on in the real world."

Evan Thompson

Ashley Wright

Brooksby Farm Manager

Lindsey Grayson

Building Inspector

Patrick McCarthy

Business Liaison

Linnette Collado

Gianna Forlizzi

Cemetery Superintendent

Pip Caplan

Edgar Castro

Dustin Davis

Christina Dusablon

Jason Gibson

Michaela Jacks

Dana Rice

Chemist and Water Supervisor

Aubrey Irvine

Christopher Locke

City Clerk

Megan Muldoon

City Councilor: At -Large

(Choose 5)

Ryan Buckley

Ali Carney

Tyler Conrad

Valerie Folan

Lizzie Godschall

Tali Malcolm

Richard Moore

Ryan Mullen

Robert Mullins

Vasili Stefanopoulos

City Councilor: Ward One

Tamia Green

City Councilor: Ward Two

Josh Rizzo

City Councilor: Ward Three

None

City Councilor: Ward Four

Daniel Silverman

City Councilor: Ward Five

Josephine Pagliuca

City Councilor: Ward Six

Jared Sinewitz

Collector

None

Community Development Director

Vanessa Valliere

Council on Aging Director

None

Electrical Inspector

David Arvanitides

Engineer

Peter Leon

"Vote me for engineer because of my knowledge in the field, the classes Im taking in High school, Im majoring in engineering in college, and I also had hands-on experience with an engineering company over the summer."

Cynthia Aroke

Alex Murray

Finance Director

None

Chief of Fire Department

Aaron Dollin

Daniel Dyer

Kylee Foglietta

Jay Luna-Gil

Anthony Pizzo

Fire Inspector Nick Jean

Health and Human Services Director

Matheus DaSilva

"I want to be the HHSD because at the core of what I want to do as part of my career in life is help people live safer and healthier lives. I'm going into college to study Health Science, Exercise Science specifically, and then onto grad school for a PhD in Physical Therapy (so essentially 7 years of post-secondary school). Wherever I go I just want to be a catalyst for change and improvement in the lives of others, and I really think this position in student government can help me learn a lot. (You can quote me on that btw lol) Thanks for hearing me out!"

Bella Ciulla

Mariah DeFreitas

Danielle Fiandaca

Maria Strakosha

Healthy Peabody Collaborative Outreach Coordinator

Kritsen Cormier

Human Resources Director

Ashley Hurton

"As human resources director you communicate and supervise many people amongst a company. I think that positive communication and relationships with others are essential to success and I plan to go to school for business/public relations."

Ashley Jenkins

Information Technology Director

Ardian Doroci

Amy Leach

Alexis Picanco

Library Director

Kyra Bresnahan

“I'm running for library director because the library has always been one of my favorite places in the city. I love all it has to offer from books to movies to special events. I want to see how it is run and how those things get to people.”

Alexandra Antoniou

Erik Jeter

Mayor

Christina Pescatore

"I have been lucky enough to help lead my class since freshman year as an officer and be our DECA president for the past two years. I love taking other people’s views and transforming them into an idea that can work for everyone. I would be honored to work along side our mayor to see how he gets it done on a larger scale and how I can learn from him."

Brandon Barbaro

Teala Dionne

Mayor’s Administrative Assistant

Brianna Rago

Mayor’s Chief of Staff

Marina DeMild

Thomas Harkins

Mayor’s Executive Secretary

Dylan Cappos

Chris Gagliolo

Marissa Morton

Parks and Forestry Superintendent

Gianna Costello

Katie Tansey

Peabody Municipal Light Plant Chairperson

None

Peabody Municipal Light Plant Manager

None

Police Department- Chief of Detectives

Gianna Frongillo

Amanda Gofferman

Sara Hosman

Samantha Machado

Rachael Margossian

Autumn Marr

Michael Melo

Marty Michelman

Ashley Polini

David Walsh

Police Department- Chief of Police

Justin Melto

"I think that I should be Police Chief for a day. My Dad has been a patrolman in Danvers, Massachusetts for over 12 years. Two of my brothers are interested in careers in law enforcement. My cousins are officers themselves in Beverly, Danvers, and Lynnfield. I am also heavily interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement because a lot of my family has been also. It has interested me for as long as I can remember."

Aaron Blaisdell

Angelica Luna

Police Department- School Resource Officer (PVMHS)

Cam Cordaro

Police Department- Secretary to Police Chief

Emma Rigol

Press- Salem Evening News City Hall Reporter

Sam Minton

"It is what I want to do in college, I'm on the school newspaper, and I'm a great writer."

Nicole Hart

Press- Weekly News City Hall Reporter

Bobby Manning

^Running unopposed, but still appreciate all the love as always!

Public Health Nurse

Christa Baker

"I think I should win public health nurse because I really want to help people and I think I can do a good job with it. Also, I plan on majoring in nursing in college and think the experience will be really eye-opening."

Paige Balley

Alexandra Castro

Sara Evangelista

Mikaela Pereira

Marissa Quigley

Jennifer Talbot

Public Services Director

Samantha Cummings

Purchasing Agent

Donnie Shaw

Alexis Couto

Jordan Selinger

Recreation, Parks, and Forestry Director

Cinthia Diaz

Haley McCarron

School Committee

(Choose 6)

Sarah Blanchette

Rachel Gjika

Briana MacDonald

Sarena Santos

Austin Sullivan

Emily Sylvanowicz

Gabriella Umana

School Department- Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent

Ted Izzo

School Department- Administrator of Special Education

Sophia Adelino

Allison Roberts

School Department- Assistant Superintendent of Schools

Amanda Bain

"I am extremely interested in learning about what she does for our school system and how it works. I have always wanted to observe what her day is like as assistant superintendent. I feel like I would be great for this job as well."

Praycelia Porcher

School Department- High School Assistant Principal

Robert Picano

Jenn Viera

School Department- High School Principal

Jonathan Lawrence

Nicole Sullivan

School Department- School Business Manager

Jenn Pollock

“I've always presented myself as a leader. I am able to work with others efficiently in order to produce a successful output. As school business manager, I would hope to collaborate with other organizations to create a favorable environment for PVMHS students and staff. In addition, I'm going to school for business management so this would be a perfect opportunity to get a head start in my career.”

Katrina Silva

School Department- Superintendent of Schools

Catherine McGrath

"I think I should get the Class of 2016's vote for Superintendent of Schools because I am very hardworking and dedicated. I'm part of many extracurriculars and clubs and feel as though I would be a great candidate that would represent a variety of people. I hope to earn your vote."

Ben Shmase

Tori Thompson

“Well, first I feel in order to have the position of the superintendent of schools, I need to have strong organizational skill, a passion of learning, and a genuine care for the students in the public school system. We all know that the Peabody Public school district is not perfect and could use some changes, especially for the high school. I would like to be able to bring this to the attention of the Superintendent of schools who has control over all the schools in our city. One idea I had to improve our school is the safety in our student parking lot, where three cars were broken into recently and items were stolen. If the parking lot had cameras, they would have been able to catch the thief. That is just one of the ideas that I would to bring up to the Superintendent of schools, I am also open to any other ideas that you may wish to see happen. I know that most of our class may not know me, but please take the time to consider voting for me as the superintendent of schools. Thanks.”

Treasurer

Seth Baigelman

Orla Kelly

Jonathan Squibb

Veterans Services and Homeland Security Director

Rebecca Dubois

Paige Hayward

Elizabeth Wright