Hudson municipal election candidates field questions at forum

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Hudson municipal election candidates field questions at forum
Candidate forum moderator Jo-Ann Berry speaks during last week’s Hudson municipal candidate forum. (Photo/Dakota Antelman)

HUDSON – Candidates for Hudson’s contested Board of Health and Municipal Light Board races spoke at a candidate night forum last week at the Hudson Senior Center.

Candidates for uncontested Select Board and School Committee races also spoke at the event, which was hosted on Thursday by the Assabet Valley Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters (Acton Area).

Municipal Light Board

Thomas Green and Michael Andrade are running for a spot on the Municipal Light Board to replace John Monteiro, who will not appear on the ballot.

Green said he has been an active attendee at light board meetings for three years since he began working with HeatSmart. He has also worked with Green Hudson to add and expand incentives that the board has adopted, such as one for developers to build all-electric homes.

“I’m seeking a board seat to continue to encourage resident and business conversion to non-fossil fuel energy sources,” Green said. “The board should continue to expand incentives in a fiscally responsible manner.”

Andrade was hired by Hudson Light and Power in 1999. He then left in March 2021 and began working in Holden.

Andrade called the Light Department “a great department” and an asset providing great service, reliability and low rates in Hudson.

“We’ve got to invest in the system,” Andrade said. “The community is growing like crazy. The demand is amazing and our customers deserve the best that we can give them.”

Green said that the Light Board’s main responsibility is to oversee the general manager of Hudson Light and Power. He noted that there needs to be input in both directions, though, saying that his experience in local government would make him uniquely qualified for the job.

Andrade described the Light Board as the general manager’s “boss,” and he said that the two must come up with a plan together to oversee financial decisions.

Hudson municipal election candidates field questions at forum
Tom Green and Michael Andrade are candidates for a Light Board seat in Hudson. (Photo/Dakota Antelman)

“I’ve got 22 years here in the system and I know what it takes to keep the lights on,” Andrade said. “The guys that are there now, I’ve trained all of them and they’re a great, great group of guys.”

Among other things, the two discussed expanding the town’s electric vehicle capacity. 

On that topic, Andrade said that Hudson has to move ahead smartly and slowly to build the required infrastructure for electric vehicles.

Green said that it will take a lot of electric vehicle infrastructure to convince people to make the investment, and that the town should look at increasing the types of rebates to give to homeowners and business owners to encourage them to install charging stations.

“I think that the town should look at putting in a level three charging station someplace, and that would certainly help with the local town vehicles,” Green said.

Board of Health

There is one open seat for Hudson’s Board of Health. It is being contested by Mercedes Murphy, Cassia Monteiro and Janet Saluk. 

Monteiro, who is originally from Hudson, has been on the Board of Health since she was appointed to fill a vacancy in October. She is a regional epidemiologist at the Metacomet Public Health Alliance and she said she is passionate about preventative health. 

“I can bring both educated and experience-based decisions to the town, along with input from the community,” Monteiro said. 

Hudson municipal election candidates field questions at forum
Cassia Monteiro, Mercedes Murphy and Janet Saluk are candidates for a Board of Health seat in Hudson. (Photo/Dakota Antelman)

Murphy worked in various non-profit roles before going back to college, where she is now studying to obtain her Masters in Public Health. Murphy said that conversations with Hudson residents have yielded a common theme of wanting a supportive Board of Health that creates solutions for the town without being punitive. 

Murphy said that the Board of Health should address mental health needs and that more should be done for substance and misuse prevention to reduce the rate of overdose calls reported by local first responders. 

“We need to have supportive and creative solutions, and that’s what I aim to do for Hudson,” Murphy said. 

Saluk is a retired nurse practitioner specializing in geriatric and community-based primary care. 

Saluk said that Hudson should make sure its most vulnerable residents are taken care of and prepared for future pandemics. She said that, while she personally believes in vaccination, she understands that some people cannot take the vaccine due to medical conditions, are afraid of it or do not like Western medicine. 

“We need to support these people, educate these people, but not mandate,” Saluk said. 

Candidates discussed building Hudson’s Health Department capacity and funding its positions, particularly after a grant funding currently paying for those roles runs out. 

Murphy said that she wants to use her experience in grant management to make sure that grants continue and so that no loss is felt by the town’s residents. 

Saluk emphasized the importance of regional collaboration, saying that MetroWest is often left out of state initiatives and noting that Hudson has to work with the other towns in the area. 

Monteiro said it is important to maintain these grants, and she echoed the ability of using grant management and local collaboration strategies to keep grants dollars flowing. 

She also said that the Board of Health should use a variety of means to share information going forward including social media and reputable sources like the state epidemiologist. 

“These are things to get out there for people to get the best information for themselves and others,” Monteiro said. 

Murphy said that it would be important to make sure that the Board of Health’s website is up to date, and that it can be easily understood by anyone reading it. 

“You want to go to someplace that you trust that is easy to understand and easily accessible,” Murphy said. 

Saluk agreed that website improvements would be necessary, saying that, when running for this position, she noticed the website listed programs that no longer existed. 

“We need to bring programs to Hudson,” Saluk said. “If you have a substance abuse program and you have to travel out of town, you’re not going to stay with it.” 

Hudson’s elections are scheduled for May 9 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

The full candidate forum can be viewed online at https://livestream.com/accounts/1289376/events/10272322. 

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