The League of Women Voters SouthCoast hosted a candidates’ forum on Tuesday night at Sippican School for those seeking election in Marion’s local elections on May 16. Eileen Marum, Co-Chair of the League of Women Voters SouthCoast, spoke before passing to the moderator saying, “democracy requires active participation.” Serving as Moderator was Jack Eklund, member of the League, attorney, and frequent moderator of local elections in the Tri-Town. It was stated all candidates running were invited via email by the Leaue. Turning up to the forum was one candidate unopposed for a three-year term on the Planning Board, four candidates running for two seats on the Select Board, and four running for three separate seats on the Open Space Acquisition Commission.
Speaking first was the current Chair of the Planning Board, Andrew Daniel, seeking re-election and who is unopposed. Daniel spoke on moving to Marion from Mattapoisett 16 years ago. He has been a Construction Supervisor for 20 years, a Facilities Director for Rochester for 10 years, a Planning Board member for about 10 years and Chair for the last year. He mentioned the intense workload of the Chair position and boasted of his perfect attendance, even given his surgeries and therapy. For his next three-year term, Daniel said his goals would be completing various proposed housing projects and supporting small business.
There are two seats open for three-year terms and one seat open for a one-year term on the Open Space Acquisition Commission. There are three candidates who are running for the two three-year terms. John Rockwell, current Chair of the Commission, spoke first.
Rockwell informed the audience on the history and purpose of the commission, being Chair. He then, jokingly apologizing to Ross Perot, held up number cards to illustrate his work on the Commission. He held up an “1100,” showing the number of acres acquired by the town in open land since the Commission’s inception in 2000. He then declared the land’s value to be $11 million, with a total cost to the town of $1.5 million. He then said, “not to brag,” before touching on $1.3 million dollars the town has received from grants he wrote.
Adele Sands spoke next. She began by saying she was raised by a conservationist and describing her upbringing outdoors. Sands began work as an English teacher in public and vocational schools for 35 years. Sands said the highlight of her career was becoming Superintendent of Bristol County Agricultural High School in Dighton. She highlighted her work and cooperation with state and federal environmental agencies. Talking of the importance of her desired position, she said, “I want to do what we can for the next generation.”
Shaun Walsh then spoke, mentioning his work as an environmental lawyer. Walsh, a Conservation Commission member for 9 years and former chair, spoke of his dedication to the town and the importance of local land. He also encouraged locals in town to “get involved in local service.” Walsh also touched on his work with the youth, heading the ORR Athletic Booster Club as well as being involved in the ORR Athletic Hall of Fame.
For the open one-year term on the Commission, the current Chair of the Select Board Norm Hills seeks the position unopposed. Hills said he has been on the Select Board for 8 years, was on the Planning Board for 6 years, 15 years on the Conservation Commission, as well as numerous others. “Looking around, I was contributing to nature conservancy before some of you guys were born,” he joked.
Next on the agenda were the four candidates running for two seats on the Select Board.
Cindy Callow, Zoning Board of Appeals Chair, spoke first. She highlighted her being on the Zoning Board for 6 years and Chair for 5. She also highlighted formerly being on the Conservation Commission for 7 years, where she was Chair for two.
John Hoagland talked on the importance of meeting locals, as well as the joy he finds in doing so. “We are all neighbors,” he declared. Hoagland mentioned problems he heard going door-to-door and how his goal is to represent those he’s spoken to. He also brought up his tenure on the Select Board from 1986 to 1992.
Sean Sweeney is a former local firefighter and youth-couch for softball, basketball, and hockey. Sweeney spoke on his career as a civil engineer, businessperson, and lawyer. He said the work he’s most proud of is his work as a project manager across Massachusetts.
George T. J. Walker discussed his desire to help the community and his focus on solution-oriented policy. Walker moved to Marion in 1987 and was elected to the Planning Board in 1993, where he has served 17 years. Highlighting his career, he spoke of managing hotels, marinas, and restaurants. He criticized spending decisions by the town as not giving adequate warrant or transparency before execution.
The moderator asked four questions, with two more following after from the public.
The first question was “what do you believe are the top three short-term issues facing the town and how do you propose to address them if elected to the Select Board.” All four candidates had similar responses and focuses. Key problems being housing for seniors, roads and other infrastructure, and the Town House.
The second question played off the first, “if applicable, what are the costs of addressing the short-term issues you’ve just identified and how do you propose to pay for any solutions that you suggest.” Candidates agreed on the Town House, with Callow warning of eminent risk of lawsuit or the state forcing work to be done due to non-compliance.
The third question was “what do you believe are the top three long-term issues facing the town and how do you propose to address them if elected to the Select Board?” Candidates highlighted similar issues to the first question. Callow, Walker, and Sweeney spoke of roads, sewers, and other infrastructure. Hoagland brought up Tri-Town education, and the need for cooperation with the other towns in order to retain teachers and provide education. He also highlighted the towns aging demographic and the need to provide services to that population, which he mentioned makes up 48%~ of the population.
The fourth and final panel question differed from the last, being “do you believe that climate change exists and if so, what steps do you believe should be taken to protect the town from the effects of climate change, including whether the town should utilize the so called ‘Massachusetts Stretch Code?’” All candidates agreed that yes, climate change is real and poses a threat to the town. All candidates were in agreement that the threat does not have to be existential and can be solved with good policy. Sweeney focused on preventing another deadly power outage such as that from Hurricane Sandy and Walker said climate change is not just a Marion issue, but threatens all coastal communities. He described the importance of cooperation with neighboring settlements.
Two questions from the audience followed. The first also relating to climate change. “How proactive have you been about promoting green communities and sustainable buildings?” The candidates had already described their past career experience. Callow focused on her work with the Conservation Commission, Hoagland spoke of his green/efficient house he recently built, Sweeney described his work in assisting I the construction of various green projects state-wide, saying Marion needs to be at the forefront and “lead by example,” and Walker spoke of town bylaw he proposed and worked on in 1994 to push for the development of solar energy.
The second and final public question was a combination of many asked and was really two questions, them being “Should new sidewalks and new sewers be paid for by betterments?” and “you all mentioned roads. We are working on them now. There are serious deficiencies in the base of Front Street and Point Road. We are about to pave over this and spend good money on a bad base. How would you resolve this issue now?” There was some confusion from candidates on the wording of the questions. Hoagland didn’t believe the government should be responsible for betterment payments for sewers, though he did say sidewalk repairs should be. Sweeney said any issue with roadwork being done incorrectly should be sent to the Department of Public Works (DPW) director. Walker focused on the issue of there not being a standardized set of regulation for new sewers. Callow declared any work that is being done in correctly leads to more issues and mistakes down the line, saying it “you’re going to have to redo it, redo it, redo it. We need to make sure we do it right the first time.”
The candidates gave closing remarks and said they are open to more questions if approached or emailed.
The Marion Town Election will be held from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm on Friday, May 16 at the Benjamin D. Cushing Community Center on 465 Mill Street. Early voting will be conducted in the Town Clerk Office of the Town House May 7 to May 14 during regular business hours. Mail-in ballots are per-request on or before Friday, May 9.
Marion Candidates Forum
By Sam Bishop