From Eagle Tribune - June 10, 2007. 

Sandy Gleed says she doesn't like the spotlight, but she embraced it when she found a cause worth fighting for.

The soft-spoken mother of two and town resident of 27 years is the woman behind a proposed property tax hike that she says is needed to avoid a "crisis" in the schools and town.

"I don't like to get up and speak into microphones, and I don't like to have my picture taken," she said, "so this is taking a lot of courage."

Gleed, 47, proposed the $1.65 million Proposition 21/2 tax override, bringing it before Town Meeting when town officials were reluctant to do so.

She is the reason voters will decide June 19 whether to raise their property taxes an average of $200 a year. She is the reason there are signs on lawns all over town urging voters to say "Yes" or "No" to an override.

Gleed's hobby is gardening, but she has spent more time trying to persuade people to raise their taxes.

She spoke at length in front of more than 1,000 people at Town Meeting on May 14. She held a meeting at the library to organize her own pro-override group, North Andover United; more than 50 people showed up.

She can barely keep up with all the e-mails she gets about the override.

"When I left for here, I had 123 e-mails waiting for me," she said last week during a pro-override gathering at selectmen Chairman Tom Licciardello's financial services office.

Gleed moved to North Andover from Stoneham 27 years ago. She spent her first 10 years living in an apartment and now owns a home.

The Prescott Street resident is an active parent, involved with the schools her children attend - Thomson Elementary and North Andover Middle School. She also helps out at the historical society.

Her husband Jeffrey, an engineer, is the breadwinner for the household, leaving her time to get involved in town government.

"I have the flexibility in my life," she said. "I am able and very willing to devote a lot of time."

She doesn't go to political meetings to ask selectmen or the School Committee what they're going to do to fix a problem. Rather, she said, she follows the advice of John F. Kennedy.

"I come from the viewpoint of, 'What can we do?'" Gleed said.

Gleed considers herself an ordinary citizen. She has no desire to hold office.

"I don't have political visions," she said. "I'm not part of an activist group; I'm a regular person that sees there is a way."

Gleed appeals to parents to vote for the override so the schools can do more for their children and hire teachers instead of laying them off. She tells other residents the town needs the money to provide services. She also makes the case to senior citizens, reminding them the senior center faces a cut to its staff without an override.

Gleed said she hopes to be attending a victory party after the polls close on June 19.

Whatever happens, the battle will continue. She wants to work with state representatives to persuade the state to give the town more aid.

"This is the first step," she said. "To pass the override and go home and forget about everything else is unacceptable."