Shrewsbury – Five candidates will be on the ballot for two seats on the Board of Selectmen in the Tuesday, May 2, Annual Town Election. The Community Advocate has invited the candidates to share a bit about their backgrounds and why they are running for selectmen. Here, in their own words, are the answers from four of the candidates who have responded thus far. (Benjamin Tartaglia did not respond to the invitation.)
Beth Casavant I am a graduate of Skidmore College and Framingham State College, and taught elementary school for nine years. My husband and I have two daughters, both students in the Shrewsbury Public Schools. I am an elected Town Meeting member for Precinct 8 and a trustee of the Shrewsbury Public Library. To stay involved with my daughters’ schools, I was the PTO president at Parker Road Preschool, Spring Street School and am currently the president for the Middle School PTO. I serve as a Worcester County Reserve Deputy Sheriff and on the Board of Directors of local nonprofit, Binkeez for Comfort.
What is the main reason you want to run for selectman?
I’m running for the Board of Selectmen to further my longstanding commitment to the town of Shrewsbury. I will ensure that Shrewsbury continues to be a great place to live, raise a family, work and retire as we transition to our next Town Manager. I bring a unique skill set to the Board in that my background is in education, and I am someone who is always looking for information and is ready to learn. I am open to different ideas and perspectives and able to work cooperatively with others, even when our viewpoints may differ.
If you are elected, what is the committee or project that you will be most interested in working and why?
I am committed to preserving and investing in our public safety and infrastructure, specifically correcting the issues with our water. It is important that Shrewsbury continue to provide the high quality municipal services and strong public schools that have become the hallmark or our community. I look forward to working with other town boards and committees to maximize efficiencies, collaborate with other communities when possible, and find ways to position Shrewsbury for a strong future.
Melissa “Missy” Hollenback I grew up in a poor town in Pennsylvania. I was the first in my family to attend college, graduating from Elmira College with a BS in business administration and an MS from UMass Amherst in labor studies. My eclectic jobs range from 10 years of retail management and sales to 10 years of administrative office management, 10 years as stay-at-home mother and extreme volunteer, and four years coordinating with other town schools/groups for textile recycling. My husband and I have lived in Shrewsbury for 20 years with our two daughters, who attend Sherwood Middle School and Shrewsbury High School.
What is the main reason you want to run for selectman?
I want to help preserve and enhance what we value most in our town: our strong sense of community. Shrewsbury residents are looking for smart growth as determined by the Master Plan, to be more engaged with town government and have enhanced communication. My strength as an established community organizer and forward thinker is one of the things that would make me valuable as a member of the Board of Selectmen, as a team member and a leader. The national election is bringing many changes to the state and our towns need to be ready to deal with these changes.
If you are elected, what is the committee or project that you will be most interested in working and why?
Our first priority is regaining the trust of the residents, many who feel anger and frustration with the ongoing structural budget deficits and water issues. To regain this trust I would like to initiate a communication project involving a road show of public casual meetings with residents in cafes, library, and schools to listen to their concerns and their suggestions to use as a springboard. As the founder of Shrewsbury Farmers’ Market and Shrewsbury Recycles, I spend a great deal of time talking and listening to all residents and would like to hear what they value in Shrewsbury.
Rashid “Rich” Shaikh I am an alumnus of UMass Lowell and Harvard Business School and earned my master’s in engineering and MBA from UMass Lowell, supply chain management degree from MIT, and Professional Leadership Development degree from Harvard Business School. I was vice president of purchasing at Holmes Group and head of global supply chain at Nypro. I developed and delivered a change management program for the company that helped Nypro grow its business from $650 million in 2001 to $1.2 billion in 2012. I saved tens of millions of dollars in contract negotiation and successful change management. I later started Value Max, Inc., in Shrewsbury that offers strategy consulting and real estate development services. I have been an active member of Shrewsbury town and have served many causes both in the town and around the commonwealth.
What is the main reason you want to run for selectman?
Shrewsbury has great town manager who is retiring in June. There are two seats up for election on May 2 where one of the incumbents who had similar background as mine is not seeking reelection. This is one of the most important times in the Shrewsbury history to either solve its problem with out-of-the-box thinking or just keep the “business as usual.” I ran for selectman in 2009 and brought a lot of new ideas to save costs and create new revenue streams. I studied the entire budget and laid out plan to save $5 million in 21 line items. I am a change leader that has a proven track record of abundant value creation with minimum resources. The Shrewsbury Board of Selectman can greatly benefit from my engineering, change management and contract negotiation skills and proven track record.
If you are elected, what is the committee or project that you will be most interested in working and why?
Some of the projects I propose that would create more value for Shrewsbury’s tax dollars: replace trash bags with stickers and save $150,000+/year; advise new town manager to study highway, building, water, sewer, parks departments for possibly creating the “DPW”; strategize with new town manager to study Westborough-type solid waste collection program to possibly save $1.5 million; our landfill currently absorbs 30+ towns’ waste/ashes, negotiate rates and the required space for the longevity of the program; develop Shrewsbury-based CEOs’ club for business-friendly policies to bring their businesses closer to home; taking advantage of UMass proximity, develop partnerships with healthcare industry and entice healthcare businesses to town; foster high school-industry partnership for internship program and additional support system for local schools; Study Water, sewer and roads infrastructure as well as Police and Fire department needs in the light of new developments and appropriate funds with the help of state agencies; initiate lean and green practices to cut waste and improve the environment; and offer special incentives for new commercial developments.
Maurice DePalo (incumbent) –I am a current Selectman and Town Meeting member from Precinct 2. I graduated from Worcester State College with a degree in Business Administration.
I grew up in town and attended Shrewsbury schools. My wife Barbara is a teacher at Oak Middle School. We have two grown children and four grandchildren.
I am currently the Property Manager at Alternatives, a nonprofit serving people with psychiatric and developmental disabilities. I am a representative at the Central Mass Metropolitan Organization which does regional transportation planning and allocates federal road funds at the local level and a member of the Shrewsbury Rotary Club.
What is the main reason you want to run for selectman?
I have proven that my commitment to our town is strong. With only our third Town Manager in 60 years starting in this July, I will offer my experience and knowledge to help insure the manager is successful and the transition is smooth. I have been successful doing this through collaboration with [current Town Manager Dan Morgado] at the start of his tenure. This is a critical time because the leadership of the town manager impacts the services the town delivers to our residents. I also want to continue to work on water system upgrades and possible replacement for Beal School.
If you are elected, what is the committee or project that you will be most interested in working and why?
I am committed to preserving and investing in our public safety and infrastructure, specifically In addition to helping the Town Manager get a good start, I believe the most important project in town is building the new water treatment plant and finding and constructing the proper treatment system to remove hex-chrome from our water. While it is currently at safe levels, we need to be proactive and construct a facility before it could become a problem. Water is a basic need and we need to insure we are delivering the safest water that we can. We also need to address how to communicate effectively to the public in this age of digital media
