Please provide a brief biographical background on yourself. What should voters know about you?
I am a proud graduate of Shrewsbury High School. I have my degree in Economics from UMASS, Amherst and law degree from Boston University’s School of Law. After college, I worked for General Electric and completed its rigorous financial management program which included financial analyst positions and MBA-level classes. For over twenty-three years, I have been a corporate lawyer. Since April 2008, I have worked at American Superconductor Corporation. I currently serve as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary and am responsible for the legal, human resources and U.S. facilities organizations. I am in my first term on the Board of Selectmen and am currently Chair. I previously served three terms on the Shrewsbury School Committee, was a member of the 2013 Fiscal Study Committee and have served as a Town Meeting Member for over 12 years. For more information about my goals and me, please visit samiaforselectman.com.
Why are you running?
I am running to ensure that Shrewsbury is a great place for all residents to live, work and raise a family.
Since being elected to the Board of Selectmen in May 2019, I have worked with other town officials to advance important initiatives and to get things done despite facing unprecedented challenges.
We have adopted strategic goals for the town, made substantial progress in improving water quality and made significant investments in public safety. We developed a long-term financial model that helped the town navigate through the economic perils of the pandemic and recently commenced our community-focused Shrewsbury 2030 Strategic Plan.
While progress has been made, our town faces several challenges including meeting the needs of a growing and diverse community, traffic safety and flow, and meeting the mental health and well-being needs of town residents. I have the proven leadership skills and experience to help solve these challenges.
What specific skills/experience/expertise would you bring to your role?
I bring significant financial and budgeting knowledge, legal and business skills and town government experience to this role.
At General Electric, I graduated from its financial management training program, which combined four six-month financial analyst assignments with MBA-level coursework. I have significant knowledge of the town and school budgets and have played a key role in long-term financial and strategic planning.
In my role at American Superconductor, I am responsible for the legal, human resources and U.S. facilities organizations and relied upon regularly to provide cost-effective solutions to complex business and legal issues.
Finally, in my first term on the Board of Selectmen and previous school committee tenure, I have worked collaboratively with other town officials and residents to advance important initiatives. I proactively seek differing perspectives on issues, have a strong understanding of the complexities of town government and a proven record of getting things done.
What do you see as three issues facing Shrewsbury?
Three important issues facing Shrewsbury are meeting the needs of a growing and diverse community, managing traffic safety and flow, and increasing resources necessary to meet the mental health and well-being needs of town residents.
How do you plan to address the issues identified facing Shrewsbury?
Successfully meeting the needs of our community requires getting diverse perspectives. A vital component of our long-term strategic planning initiative, the Shrewsbury 2030 Strategic Plan, is to actively engage with as many residents as possible to ensure that we align town government and limited financial resources with the priorities of our residents.
Enforcement is an important element of addressing traffic concerns. For enforcement to be effective, it requires a dedicated traffic unit which Shrewsbury does not have. The proposed FY23 budget includes the addition of a patrol officer dedicated to traffic and funds for a study aimed to improve town center traffic.
Finally, to address the mental health needs of town residents, we have allocated $606,000 from federal stimulus funds to SYFS to increase its capacity to provide mental health counseling for town residents. The proposed FY23 school budget includes additional resources to address the mental health crisis impacting students.
With multiple residential and commercial projects on the horizon, how would you plan to manage current and future development in Shrewsbury?
This is an important question about what kind of community we want to be.
From a residential standpoint, it is imperative that all residents feel welcome in our town. We need to focus on creating affordable housing, invest in open space, develop tax strategies to reduce the tax burden on seniors and the disabled and allow in-law apartments by right to enable seniors to remain in town.
From a commercial standpoint, I will continue to proactively seek commercial development opportunities. Initial focus will be on currently vacant properties to create local jobs and increase commercial tax revenues that will help Shrewsbury become less dependent on residential taxes, yet always being mindful of the impact on residents.
Finally, resident feedback elicited during the Shrewsbury 2030 Strategic Plan process also will inform the town’s overall approach regarding commercial and residential development.
In light of recent increases to average tax bills, what is your perspective on the current tax burden on Shrewsbury residential property owners? What should the town do to support taxpayers?
The recent tax bill increases have been difficult for many residents, particularly for seniors on fixed incomes. This is why I support the warrant articles at the May town meeting to provide tax relief for qualifying seniors.
When the voters passed the 2021 operational override, the Board of Selectmen committed not to seek another override for at least four years. Through good fiscal planning, we currently forecast financial resources for at least 5 years with the goal of a longer period.
The town’s strong financial position has resulted in a AAA bond rating from Standard and Poor’s. The AAA rating translates to significantly lower borrowing costs for capital projects like the new Beal School and Police Station resulting in millions of dollars of taxpayer savings.
I’ll continue to work with town officials to proactively seek opportunities to increase commercial tax revenue to help Shrewsbury become less dependent on residential taxes.
What are your thoughts about recent efforts to revitalize Shrewsbury’s Town Center?
I believe that the Beal Commons project will make a significant, positive impact to the Town and voted to approve this project.
The project is the result of a multi-year public-engaged visioning and planning process. Starting with the Town’s 2016 Master Plan, residents identified the need to “strengthen the Town Center” and “support the Town Center as a destination.” Since that time, the Town engaged with the public through multiple, well-attended public forums, surveys and hearings. Through community input arose a vision for a vibrant, walkable Town Center with a balance of retail, residential, and green spaces, like the Beal Commons project.
The expected benefits of this project are significant, including turning public non-taxable land into private taxable land and being a catalyst for future economic development in town center. The project provides a built-in customer base for local businesses, additional affordable housing units, and additional publicly available parking spaces.
