SAUGUS — The first meeting of the new School Committee was Thursday night, where incumbent Thomas Whittredge was named chair of the Committee and incumbent Stephanie Mastrocola as vice chair unanimously.
The final results from the 2025 election had Whittredge receiving 2,228 votes, Mastrocola 2,063 votes, Brian Doherty 1,805 votes, Shannon McCarthy 1,660 votes, and Joseph “Dennis” Gould 1,351 votes. Whittredge and Mastrocola are also the only two members who were on the last Committee.
Also to note, Whittredge received the most votes out of anyone on the ballots for School Committee, Board of Selectmen, and Town Meeting.
“I’d like to thank everybody who came out and voted. Even if you didn’t vote for me, it’s good to see,” Doherty said.
He said he’s looking forward to working with everybody on the Committee.
McCarthy said, “I’d like to thank all the voters as well who came out. I’m really happy to be here.”
She also thanked her family and friends for their support and she’s excited to get to work.
Gould said, “I appreciate everybody that voted, whether you voted for me or not. I think we’ve got a great Committee this year.”
He noted that it was great to see all the young people running this year, adding that it says something about the change that people want to see.
Mastrocola said, “Thank you, everybody. Thank you to my husband who put up with many nights of wondering why I was up until 2 a.m. looking at numbers.”
She also thanked the community, saying she’s thrilled to be back and ready to put in the work.
Whittredge said, “I want to thank my family. My wife, my sister, my niece. Actually, all my sisters and my brothers. It’s nice to have a big family, everybody out there supporting you. This is my fourth time being elected to the School Committee, and every single time, I get the same feeling inside. I really really love helping the community move on.”
He said he can’t thank people enough for putting their trust in him.
“I’m not going to let you down. Like Steph said, people can call any one of us. I’ll always answer my phone,” he said.
Superintendent Michael Hashem said he was looking forward to working with the Committee.
