Two vie for seat on Westborough’s Planning Board

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Westborough – There will be several contested races for Westborough voters to consider when they go to the polls Tuesday, March 2 for the town’s annual election. Two candidates, Pete Bouchard and Zafar Siddiqui, will be contending for a five-year term on the Planning Board. 

Here, in their own words, the candidates introduce themselves.

Pete Bouchard is one of the two candidates running for the Westborough Planning Board.
Pete Bouchard

Pete Bouchard – Making this announcement two weeks ago was a special moment in my life. My wife Kara O’Connell Bouchard and I both grew up in Westborough and now we are raising our three children in town. Both of our parents were quite involved in the community during our adolescence and now it is my time to give back.

A few months ago I was approached by a few very respected community members that asked me if I would run for an opening on the planning board. They indicated that my real estate experience in the local market would be beneficial to the board. 

I decided to interview a member of the current planning board to fully understand what the position entailed and the responsibilities. After this conversation and watching hours of past planning board meetings I became inspired to run.

I immediately identified projects and committees within the Planning Board that I felt I could make an impact in if I was elected. In recent meetings the Land Prioritization Committee has been discussed, and I am so excited to help Hazel Nourse with this project. Westborough is looking to create an inventory of all vacant properties and rank their value for future municipal use. This is essential when planning for the future growth of Westborough. If the town can strategically locate properties that can be purchased well in advance of the need of the municipal building the town can save money on the purchase of these properties. With my real estate experience, I feel I would be an asset to this cause.

I am excited and honored to be asked to be part of making a difference in this town that I love. I would be honored if you would vote for me in the upcoming election! 

Zafar Siddiqui is one of the two candidates running for the Westborough Planning Board.
Zafar Siddiqui

Zafar SiddiquiI have been a resident of Westborough for 16 years and worked at UMass Medical Center as an anesthesiologist for some time. Me and my wife, an ICU nurse, have been on the frontlines in these COVID-19 times. I would like to further serve the community by being actively involved in the town as a member of the planning board. I love our town and plan to live here for the rest of our lives. My twins graduated from WHS in 2019 and I still have a child in grade 4 in our wonderful school system. 

I am a person with a wealth of education and experience. I have lived and worked in India, UK and since 1999, in the US.  Besides my medical qualifications I also earned an MBA from UMass, Paralegal Certificate from BU and am currently doing a Real Estate course. I also have the maturity, integrity, dedication, honesty and resilience to serve well. My daily job demands teamwork from many teams including surgeons and nurses. I can bring that experience to town projects. I make decisions with two principles in mind – “Do the right thing and/or do the better thing” and the decisions have to be “good for ‘us’ (our town) and not only for me” (few people).

The town of Westborough has so many wonderful things – location and school system- which if advertised well can bring in a lot of valuable and fiscally responsible projects. Besides working for attracting small business I would work on attracting biotech companies. Most importantly we can make our town even better for us and new residents by preserving ‘green’ — make a multi-facility park, bike paths, safe walking, running and biking places and pedestrian crossing. One thing I know is that the land area of our town will not increase, and we have to think in the long term. I also believe that if we can give tax breaks to large businesses, we can give tax breaks to our residents.

Photos/submitted

 

 

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