Town revises ’18 ballot after school board resignation

Another elected office will be up for grabs in the upcoming April town election following the surprise resignation of veteran School Committee member John Bonnanzio last week.

Bonnanzio, who has served the board for a total of 12 years across two separate stints, tendered his resignation in a letter to the town clerk’s office dated December 29. He plans to step down on April 2, the day before the 2018 town election.

Bonnanzio, in his resignation letter, said he was announcing his plans now in order to give other residents the opportunity to run for the remaining two years of his three-year term. “It is my earnest hope,” he wrote, “that the seat I have held will be filled by an individual whose own passions, commitment and respect for the Canton Public Schools, its students, teachers, administrators and support staff exceed my own.”

With the addition of Bonnanzio’s seat, there will now be two School Committee spots on the April ballot, including a full three-year term currently held by Kristin Mirliani. Nomination papers for all open offices will be available in the town clerk’s office beginning Monday, January 8, with a final pick-up deadline of Friday, February 9. The deadline to return papers is Tuesday, February 13, at 7 p.m.

Bonnanzio, who was reelected last April, stated in an email that his decision to resign was made “after many conversations, much thought, and even a few tears.” He noted that he will be marrying his fiancée, Sally Wade, in August and they plan to move out of Canton.

“I will always be deeply grateful to the town’s residents for having had the opportunity to serve them (and the many thousands of students along the way — including my own four children) since my first election in 2002,” he wrote in his resignation letter. “Finally, I offer my best wishes and continued success to my town, and to the public schools that have served my family so thoughtfully and faithfully through the years.”

A leading voice on the School Committee over the past decade-plus, Bonnanzio has served multiple stints as chairman, most recently from 2016 to 2017. He was instrumental in securing an operational override in 2008 that helped to restore town services and was heavily involved in negotiations with the developers of the Plymouth Rubber property. He also represented the schools’ interests on the building use committee for the Paul Revere Heritage Site and successfully brokered a deal with Revere Copper Products Inc. to supply copper for the new roof on the historic Revere rolling mill.

While his future plans are unclear at this time, Bonnanzio has long shown an interest in politics and previously ran for state representative as the Republican challenger to Rep. Bill Galvin in 2004. He also made a run at a selectmen’s seat in 2015 but returned to his School Committee post after coming up short in a crowded field of candidates.

A native New Yorker, Bonnanzio has a degree from Fordham University and is the editor of Fidelity Monitor & Insight. His youngest child, Geoffrey, is due to graduate from CHS this spring.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Jan 5 2018. Filed under News, Schools, Town Election, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.