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Date: 3/29/2023
SOUTHWICK — Incumbent Select Board Chair Russell S. Fox announced this month he is seeking to retain his seat on the board.
“Taxes is the big thing,” Fox said when asked what he believes is the issue most important to town residents.
“I’m an advocate for the taxpayer,” he said, adding that he was proud to lead the effort to reduce commercial and residential property tax rates this past fiscal year by 87 cents.
And despite that tax cut, he said the town continues to run efficiently, using revenues from grant awards, and the state and federal government.
“In working with others in town government, we have been successful in procuring numerous grants, resulting in saving taxpayers millions of dollars. This has benefited Southwick citizens with better police and fire protection, improvements to infrastructure, advanced technology in municipal buildings, many energy-saving developments, [and the] regional school system,” according to a press release announcing his re-election effort.
He also explained in the press release how his leadership skills, knowledge of municipal finances and experience have benefited the town.
“With fellow volunteers and a dedicated staff of professionals, we have worked to address the needs of our community while using sound fiscal planning. I have and always will be a strong advocate for the taxpayers of Southwick. This starts with understanding the budgeting process, which not only considers the current fiscal year, but the fiscal years to come.
“I have demonstrated that I possess the skills necessary to manage an annual budget of approximately $30 million to facilitate the operations of our town,” he said in the press release.
Fox, 67, and a lifetime resident of Southwick, has served in various capacities in town government over the last 40 years, beginning his service as a member of the town’s Finance Committee only months after earning a degree from Babson College.
When he was 23, he was appointed in 1981 to the Select Board to complete the two-year term of a board member who resigned, and won re-election four times ending his first tenure on the board in 1990.
He then went on to serve 10 years on the Economic Development Commission, before moving on to serving 10 years on the Board of Assessors.
It was the experience as an assessor that motivated him to again seek a seat on the Select Board.
“We took a pounding about taxes,” Fox said of his time on the Board of Assessors.
He mounted a campaign in 2011 and was elected again to the Select Board, and has been re-elected every three years since then, also fending off a recall effort in 2021 after petitioners failed to gather enough signatures to force a vote.
Fox owns and operates the Southwick Florist, which he purchased from a retiring couple. The florist shop was a second business for him. He started out helping run his family’s farm and used the skills he learned growing and selling crops to successfully run the floral business.
Fox, who is married and has two children and two grandchildren, is involved in the community.
He is a volunteer and vice president of the Southwick Recreation Center, a member of the Southwick Rotary Club, the Southwick Grange, the Sons of the American Legion, and he volunteers at his church, the Southwick Congregational Church.
He is running against Diane Gale, a civic activist who was one of the most visible opponents of the used-car dealer Carvana’s attempt to build a processing facility in town.
The company withdrew its special permit application in July 2021 to build the center hours before a public hearing was scheduled where it was expected to face stiff opposition from residents.
When asked about Gale’s run for the seat, Fox said he thinks experience is critical when serving on the Select Board, adding that Gale has never served on any boards or commissions in town.
“I’m very concerned about electing people with no experience,” Fox said, adding that when the town’s longtime chief executive officer Karl Stinehart retires in a couple of years, the experience of elected officials will help fill that knowledge gap.
And he said there is steep “learning curve” when confronted with tough issues the Select Board addresses.
Fox also said that he understands that people often want change.
“Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it can be bad,” he said.
Fox also stressed his “deep love and appreciation for our community.”
“Having lived here my whole life and raising a family here, I care about Southwick’s past, present, and future. It is important to me to preserve the rural character of Southwick.
“This is seen in my choice to preserve my family’s farm so that it will always be farmed in perpetuity and can never be developed. Southwick has changed over my lifetime, but it is still a beautiful community that I am proud to call home,” Fox said in his release announcing his re-election effort.
The town election is scheduled for May 9. In-person early voting will take place May 1-5.