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Haverhill’s city election season is shaping up with a former City Council candidate taking out nomination papers for one of three at-large School Committee seats.
Josiah Morrow, whose first run in 2021 for City Council was unsuccessful, said in a release he will “bring to the School Committee his abilities including budgeting, contract negotiation and community outreach.” Morrow and Daniel Spheekas are the only two so far to declare their candidacies for a citywide post on the Committee following decisions by incumbent School Committee members Richard J. Rosa and Paul A. Magliocchetti to forgo seeking re-election to the body.
During the first week papers were available from Haverhill City Clerk Kaitlin M. Wright’s office, incumbent School Committee Jill Story, Ward 5, took forms as did newcomer Jennifer Arndt, Ward 3 School Committee. Others who took out papers during the last week or so for School Committee are incumbent Thomas Grannemann, Ward 7, and Fred A. Simmons, Ward 4.
Newcomers taking out papers for City Council include Pedro Rentas, at-large, and Dan Diodati, Ward 2. They join incumbent City Councilors Timothy J. Jordan, at-large; Devan M. Ferreira, Ward 3; Catherine P. Rogers, Ward 7; Michael S. McGonagle, Ward 6; and Colin F. LePage, at-large. Among those pulling nomination papers for City Council earlier are incumbents Thomas J. Sullivan, at-large; Ralph T. Basiliere, Ward 1; and Shaun P. Toohey, Ward 5; and challengers Michael Morales, at-large
Mayor Melinda E. Barrett pulled papers for re-election early on.
In his statement, Morrow said he has more than five years’ experience in the recruiting and staffing industry and currently works as a manager for a national staffing agency in Boston. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the UMass Lowell. Previously, he was employed by nonprofits Bethany Community Services and the Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce.
He has served on the Downtown Parking Commission, as president of the Duston-Dustin Garrison House Association, clerk of session at the First Presbyterian Church of Haverhill, as board member of Eammon’s Heart Foundation, as former president of the League of Women Voters of Greater Haverhill and founded the online community platform Today in Haverhill. He has also been involved with projects for the Haverhill Garden Club and the Wood School Neighborhood Association, for which he organized a community event promoting childhood literacy. His grandfather Scotty Morrow served on the School Committee before becoming Haverhill’s state representative, and his great uncle, Ken Morrow, was the freshman unit administrator at Haverhill High School.