Town Caucus ~ Part I ~ Contested Races for Select Board, School Committee, and Board of Health

January 5, 2022
Waiting for Bedford’s 2022 Town Caucus to begin on Tuesday, January 4 ~ Image JMcCT, 2022, all rights reserved

 

One of the more dynamic local election campaign seasons in decades took shape Tuesday evening, as contests for three major town boards emerged from the annual town caucus.

Dozens of voters filled the socially-distanced Reed Room in Town Hall, despite the ongoing pandemic. The caucus endorsed rules changes that eliminated nominating speeches and cut off acceptance remarks to two minutes. Select Board Chair Margot Fleischman, as expected, was chosen to preside, and explained that the rules changes were proposed “to get us in and out of here as quickly as possible.” Even so, with all the candidacies, the process still took an hour.

The caucus provides a speedier alternative for candidates to enter their names on the election ballot. The alternative is to secure at least 50 certified signatures of registered voters. Nomination petitions must be submitted to the town clerk’s office by Jan. 21.

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Here are the contested offices. All candidates were nominated, as the caucus is empowered to choose two names for each vacancy.

  • Select Board (two seats): Emily Mitchell, incumbent; Shawn Hanegan, and Ronald O’Brien.
  • School Committee (two seats): Brad Morrison, incumbent; Eleanor Gorsey, Kelly Horton, and Sheila Mehta-Green.
  • Board of Health (one seat): Bea Brunkhorst, incumbent; and Alison O’Connell.

There are also two openings on the Planning Board, but only Todd Crowley was nominated. Incumbents are Hanegan who is running for Select Board and Amy Lloyd, who plans to run on papers to retain her Planning Board position; she is isolating while she recovers from a mild case of omicron and could not attend Tuesday’s caucus. There also were uncontested nominations for assessor, moderator, library trustee, and regional school committee member.

The Select Board race took an interesting twist. Dan Carroll, who has formally announced his candidacy, didn’t participate in the caucus. However, his next-door neighbor, O’Brien, was entered into nomination, and his nomination was seconded by one of Carroll’s professional colleagues.

Mitchell, nominated by School Committee member Ann Guay, listed several accomplishments during her first term — renewed emphasis on board and committee service; an increased green energy component in community aggregation; equity and disability audits among the town staff. “I’m proud of our response to the community needs from the pandemic,” she said. “Bedford has stepped up to support our people while making sure the work of the town goes on.”

Hanegan, nominated by state Rep. Kenneth Gordon, cited his service over the last 10 years on the Planning Board, the Community Preservation Committee, and the Housing Partnership. He promised to continue what he said is the town’s tradition of civil discourse and to bring new people into the government process.

O’Brien, a former Conservation Commission member, was nominated by his son Adam. The candidate cited his service as a volunteer in the schools, youth sports, and the Bedford Santa program. A civil engineer, he talked of his experience designing major municipal projects.

Morrison, whose name was placed in nomination by Guay, said that during his years on the School Committee, “I’ve learned that there’s a lot to learn.” He stressed “three core principles” for personal guidance: “Do what is right for the students. There is way more to the schools’ roles than just book knowledge. It is absolutely essential to listen to all stakeholders in the school community.”

Eleanor Gorsey, a candidate for School Committee, said she ran the former Bedford Learning Center and is a former teacher. She said she is interested in “promoting the quality of our curriculum” and for promoting “openness and cooperation between all the stakeholders.”

Horton’s name was placed in nomination by Meredith Wasko. She noted her family’s many positive experiences in the schools and called teachers “miracle workers.” She stated, “My desire is driven by my passion for the schools to meet the needs of all students – socially, academically, emotionally,” and to enhance dialogue.

Mehta-Green, nominated by Mitchell, said she is an advocate for education, and “advocacy starts with listening about what is working well and what we can improve, That is followed by collaboration and investment in implementing and sustaining. A professor at Middlesex Community College, Mehta-Green noted her work with the Special Education Parents Advisory Council.

Susan Schwartz nominated her Board of Health colleague Brunkhorst. The incumbent noted she has been on the board since 1998. She tied her professional work as a scientist to her role on the board and said her training helps her keep the board and the public informed. “I believe in using all tools available to us to fight this virus,” Brunkhorst said. She noted that town health officials are addressing issues of mental health and food insecurity, and she said she wants to ensure their continuity, along with other issues that will outlive the pandemic.

O’Connell, Director of Corporate Compliance for a health insurer/provider, stressed her management and leadership experience in public sector health care. She said she continuously challenges norms in her professional life but is also “very flexible” and “highly collaborative.” She was nominated by Katie Guerino.

Click this link to read Town Caucus, Part 2 ~ Uncontested Races

Correction, Jan. 5, 2022: Ms. O’Connell points out that she is not ‘a scientist’ as stated in the original article, but instead is Director of Corporate Compliance for a health insurer/provider.

Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763

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Dan Carroll
January 8, 2022 7:08 pm

I am writing as a response to this article written by Mike Rosenberg on January 5th “Town Caucus ~ Part I ~ Contested Races for Select Board, School Committee, and Board of Health.

I wish to make it clear that I intend to be a candidate for the Town of Bedford Select Board.

As Mr. Rosenberg states in his article “The caucus provides a speedier alternative for candidates to enter their names on the election ballot. The alternative is to secure at least 50 certified signatures of registered voters. Nomination petitions must be submitted to the town clerk’s office by Jan. 21.”

The article later states “The Select Board race took an interesting twist. Dan Carroll, who has formally announced his candidacy, didn’t participate in the caucus.”

Actually, this was not a twist, it was simply my desire to participate in Bedford’s voting tradition utilizing one of the two authorized processes (collecting 50 signatures from registered voters in the Town of Bedford).

On December 6th, (the first day papers can be signed) I met with our Town Clerk early in the morning and signed my intention to run for Select Board. I opted to collect 50 signatures from registered voters in the Town of Bedford to initiate my candidacy by meeting with the citizens of Bedford to converse, share ideas, and listen.

My decision to collect signatures reflects how I will work with Bedford citizens as your Select Board member – meeting with residents and business owners sharing ideas and listening.

I have secured the signatures of 50 registered voters and have had incredibly enlightening conversations with many residents as part of this process.

I look forward to the election on March 12th and seeing you all on the campaign trail.

Dan Carroll – Candidate for Select Board.

Christine Bennett
January 6, 2022 3:22 pm

Exciting to see so many people who previously showed no interest in community government getting involved! I hope this is a sign of lots of volunteers in the pipeline!

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