Southborough – Southborough will be holding its Annual Town Election Monday, May 12. Five candidates will be running for two spots on the Board of Selectmen for a three-year term.? Those candidates are Lisa M. Cappello, Paul M. Cimino, Alfred C. Hamilton, incumbent Daniel L. Kolenda, and David W. Parry.
Three candidates will run one spot on the Board of Selectmen for a two-year term. Those candidates are Louis Fazen, III, Joseph E. Hubley and Bonnie J. Phaneuf.
??? Paul M. Cimino – I am a New England native and, together with my wife and two children, have called Southborough home for the past 14 years; it is a special place to live and raise a family.? My advanced degrees are in engineering and law, and currently I am VP & General Counsel at a corporation in Westborough.? I came to my legal career following graduation from West Point and service as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, including the war in Kuwait (Gulf War I).? I have served the Town in various capacities (appointed and elected) over the years.
??? Louis Fazen, III – am a recently retired pediatrician who after training came to Central Massachusetts 40 years ago.? As my wife and I started?our family we moved from Worcester to Southborough and we simply
loved the nature of the town.? We planted our roots here and?have lived in Southborough for the past 23 years.
In 2003 I was elected to serve on the Board of Health (BOH) and?? have served as chairman for the past 10 years.? Throughout my career I have been fortunate to serve in the United States?Public Health Service Commission Corps, the Governor's? Commission on Lyme Disease and as chairman of the state medical? society committee on public health.? I hope to build on my commitment of community service as a member of the Board of? Selectmen.
Alfred C. Hamilton -When people come up to me and ask “Why on earth do you want to be a Selectman?” I usually respond “I was dropped on my head as a child.” The slightly more serious answer is that I am doing it for my grandniece and grandnephew who, at ages 3 and almost 1, are some of our newest Southborough citizens.
I grew up in upstate New York and where I received an excellent public education and, with my wife of 36 years, raised my own three children here in Southborough. I am running for selectman to help make sure that our town's financial house is put in order to assure that resources are available to provide the next generation the same educational advantages I and my children received.
If you want to find out more about me visit www.al4selectman.com or contact me at [email protected] or 508-820-1550.
??? Joseph E. Hubley – Joe joined the Southborough Fire Department in 1978 as a call firefighter. In 2002, he was promoted to Captain, and continues in that role today as a Firefighter/EMT-I, making difficult decisions under adverse conditions in service to the town he loves. Joe's leadership qualities were recognized when he became President of the Southborough Firefighters, a position he held for many years. His ability to compromise and reach settlements led to an appointment to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Joint Labor-Management Committee, where Joe represents the Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts. (http://www.joehubley.com)
Dan Kolenda – married to Kathy Kolenda.? 3 children, James (Algonquin Regional High School), Annalise (Trottier Middle School) and Matthew (Neary Elementary).? Vice President and Managing Assistant General Counsel, CA Technologies.? Major, United States Army Reserve, JAG Corps.? Veteran, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Baghdad, Iraq, 2008-2009; Missions to the Democratic Republic of Congo, 2012 and 2014.? Town Experience: Board of Selectman, Advisory Committee, Southborough Little League, Southborough Housing Authority.
David W. Parry -? Born in Darjeeling India to father in British Royal Air Force during WWII. Came to England in 1950s. Educated in English schools.? Cambridge University: BA, . MA in Architecture. Harvard University: MA in Urban Design. Columbia University: MSc in City Planning. Worked for NY State Urban Development Corporation, Roosevelt Island New Town. Director of Programming for Comm of MA, Dept of Capital Planning. City Planner for City of Marlborough. Selectman in Southborough 9 years in 1990s. Planning Board in 1980s and 1990s.
??? What specific career or personal experience in your past do you feel prepares you for this position and why?
??? Cimino – Without doubt I point to my prior service, first to our Nation and then to my Town.? As a former military officer in war time, I learned and know first?hand the distress that comes with making life-altering decisions.? Not all decisions that Selectmen make are hard, but plenty of them are, and I am well prepared to confront and embrace difficult decision making that affects people's lives in profound ways.? And certainly my prior time in Town? service (elected and appointed) has provided invaluable familiarity with the people and places that shape the important issues I will face.
?? Fazen – The single most important preparation for the Board of Selectmen?? is my decade of service as Chairman of the BOH. The BOH has responded to the public need for services beyond supervising septic systems.? We became involved in healthy life styles, local control of infectious diseases, emergency preparedness,
and tobacco control.
We are also working to share programming with other communities.? Recently we joined a local community collaborative to reduce the?harmful effects of tobacco.?? As the role of the BOH expands, we have taken proactive steps to apply for outside grants and?rearrange staffing to advance into areas of greatest concern to?the health of Southborough residents.
Hamilton- In my 18 years in town, I have served our community in a wide variety of roles. I have been a Boy Scout leader, soccer coach, and basketball coach. I ran for selectman a number of years ago on the platform of preserving our regional school system. Since then I have served on and chaired the Capital Budget Committee, served on and chaired the Advisory Committee, and served on and chaired the Ad Hoc Town Manager Legislation Committee.
I have a strong financial and quantitative orientation and want to bring these skills to the board to assure that we deliver the vital services our community needs in an effective and efficient fashion.
??? Hubley – In my job I am called upon daily to provide leadership and service to my community. As a lifelong resident who lives and works in Southborough, I know this town and care deeply about it. The Board of Selectmen have appointed me to numerous positions, including the Historical Commission in 2006, where I was elected as Chair in 2013; the Community Preservation Committee as the Historical Representative in 2008; and? the town's 275th Birthday Celebration Committee. As Selectman, I will bring decisive leadership based on a commitment to listening to our residents.
Kolenda – Governing is serious business that requires serious people committed to giving of themselves and their time for the betterment of their community.? Over the last 3 years of service to our Town, I have met with numerous residents, our school administrators, our business owners and our community and state leaders.? I listen first, gather facts, and then make the best decision I think possible for the entirety of our Town.? I don's act or govern based on emotion, and I will always do what I think is right for the residents of Southborough, not what may be politically right for me.
??? Parry – I have been a Selectmen before, for 9 years, during which I accomplished many town projects. I have space to name a few:? Negotiating an agreement with MWRA to have them install and pay for new water lines, along streets above their new water tunnel. Negotiating an agreement with MBTA to have them build and pay for new sidewalks along many streets, near the new MBTA train station. Negotiating the purchase of the former church along Rt 85 near downtown, now called Cordaville Hall, to serve as a new senior center, Conference and Meeting Center, and offices for Bd of Health. The site has excellent location, parking and septic.? Negotiating an agreement with the State DCR to allow the Town to install a new playfield made of artificial grass on their land (the “9/11” field).
??? What do you think is the most significant problem facing your community? What do you think should be done short-term and long-term to change it?
????? Cimino – My Town currently confronts the inevitable rise in the cost of providing municipal services.? Yet, year after year of tax increases make it difficult for people of modest means to stay in Town, and tug at the fabric of what makes us special.? Short term it's extremely important to communicate about this challenge – taxpayers are intelligent, and should be provided detailed information and a continual forum to participate in budgetary choices.? Long term, municipal leaders must consider changes to the structure and size of government – while excellent core services must be emphasized, other services must reflect what reasonable revenues allow.
??? Fazen – Our most important current and long term problem is our unfunded? mandates adding up to $28 million.?In the short term we need? to accurately calculate the true cost for new employees.?It? isn’t just salaries and benefits but also long term retiree?health benefits.
Surrounding towns have a similar long term problem.?? We will need to work collectively and wisely to make sure we meet our?obligations into the future.??? As a pediatrician I want to be?sure our children and grandchildren will continue to recognize?Southborough as one of the best places to live in America.
??? Hamilton- The most significant problem facing our community is also the most boring. Unfunded liabilities. Like most states and municipalities in the US we have made a lot of promises to our employees about future benefits they have earned in retirement. Unfortunately, the financing of these obligations is on shaky ground. We need to have a very public conversation about the size of this obligation (on the order of $28 million in Southborough) and some frank discussions about how we manage this responsibility. This is critical to making sure that we can meet the obligations to future generations as well as those that work for us now.
??? Hubley – We value our excellent public schools, safe community, open spaces, and historic character. Maintaining what we love about Southborough in the face of potentially declining revenues is the most significant issue in our town, both in the short and long term.
Kolenda – One of the most important problems facing our community is the amount of revenues coming in to Southborough and expenses going out.? The challenge remains to provide the highest level of services at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayer.? Identifying additional sources of revenue is thus imperative.? I's proud of the work of our newly established Economic Development Committee which is helping support current business owners and attractive new ones that will fit within the rural character of Southborough.? These additional sources of revenue, and jobs, will lessen the burden on the residential taxpayer and help us maintain the level of service to which our residents have become accustomed.
??? Parry – Route 9 is our greatest problem. The congestion is out of control. In Fayville, at the Oak Hill/Central signal, the lines stretch over a mile along Route 9 in rush hour. But State DOT has no plans or even sketches as to how to resolve the problem. At Flagg Road, traffic must exit heading west, and cannot enter Route 9 traffic safely. Cars wanting to head east have to use the interchange of 495 and 9, and make two entire circles on ramps, to head back east. It is very dangerous.