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Date: 6/1/2021
SOUTHAMPTON – On May 25, the Town of Southampton hosted a “Meet the Candidates” forum where residents were able to learn more about the Select Board candidates for the upcoming Town Election.
On June 22, Southampton voters will have the opportunity to vote for two Selectboard candidates for a three-year term and one Select Board candidate for a two-year term. Francine Tishman, Nilda Cohen, and Dylan Mawdsley are running against each other for the one two-year term on the Select Board, while Matthew Roland, Jon Lumbra, and Joy Piper are running against each other for the two three-year terms on the Select Board. Tishman and Roland are both running for re-election.
Cohen, who has worked in New York for 17 years for major multinational corporations, stated that her first priority if she was elected to the town’s Selectboard would be finances.
“We need to get a handle on where we’re at the moment,” she said. “I think that we need to be able to certainly communicate and convey the importance of the financial situation in town to taxpayers.”
She added that certain infrastructure in town is out of date, and a new public safety complex should be one of the town’s next priorities. “The buildings are not safe,” she said. “They’re not equipped to handle emergency that we would need to respond too.”
Lumbra, who is currently the chair of the William Norris School Committee, said that one of his priorities; if elected to one of the two three-year seats; would be to strengthen the overall budget process in town.
“I truthfully feel as a CFO myself that the town as a whole would only be better off by fully understanding the budget and not just showing the numbers on the spreadsheet,” said Lumbra, who added that the town should strive to move towards a five or ten-year budget process. “We should be striving to only add new debt that equals the retirement debt.”
Mawdsley, a 10-year attorney for various agencies across Massachusetts, stated that his main focus as a Select Board member would include the development and rehabilitation of infrastructure throughout Southampton.
Specifically, he wants to see better quality of living for residents, better recreational opportunities and improved utilities. “I believe a path to a better and more prosperous Southampton is to entice additional commercial and residential growth,” said Mawdsley, who added that business development would be his first order of business. “In this way, we can increase the overall tax base and hopefully be able to fully support our parks, town services and schools.”
Piper, who offers legal services at her own law firm for Hampshire and Hampden County, said that her top priority as a member of the Select Board would be to help develop affordable housing throughout the town, especially for those who have grown up in Southampton or surrounding communities.
“Classmates of mine that I had graduated with would love to come back to Southampton to start or raise their families here, but are financially unable too,” said Piper, who also grew up in Southampton. “They have been priced out of the community they grew up in, and that’s not okay.”
Tishman, an incumbent member of the Select Board, stated that her number one priority is to make Southampton financially stable and sustainable by making sure vacancies in employment and boards and committees are figured out.
“It is essential that town employees and elected persons work together to find ways to provide the services residents need and expect,” said Tishman. “We have to find a way to pay our bills without decimating the services this town’s residents rely on.”
Roland, also a Select Board incumbent, was not present at the forum due to a family emergency.
The Annual Town Election will be conducted on June 22 from 12 to 8 p.m. at the Town Hall.