2010 Board of Selectman Candidate Profiles
Four candidates are seeking two seats on the Board of Selectmen.
Two BoS incumbents are seeking re-election to the board, and two candidates are vying for initial terms.
Selectmen serve a three-year term.
General Information |
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| Name | Josh Degen (incumbent) |
Robert S. Hargraves
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Brooks Lyman
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Stuart Schulman (incumbent) |
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| Party affiliation | Undeclared | Republican | Republican | Undeclared |
| Address | 409 Martin’s Pond Road | 21 Temple Drive | 328 Townsend Road | 39 Chicopee Row |
| Groton, MA 01450 | Groton, MA 01450 | Groton, MA 01450 | Groton, MA 01450 | |
| Contact phone | (978) 732-7097 | (978) 448-5456 | (978) 448-9947 | (978) 448-6249 |
| [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected] | [email protected] | |
| WWW site | www.joshdegen.com | www.repbobhargraves.com | www.brookslyman.net | None |
Demographic Information |
Josh Degen (incumbent) |
Robert S. Hargraves
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Brooks Lyman
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Stuart Schulman (incumbent) |
| Age | 48 | 73 | 69 | 63 |
| Vocation | Small business owner (landscape contractor) | High School / Middle School Principal | Industrial Controls Consultant | Musician, Database Consultant |
| Education | Tulane University 1979 – 80 UMass Amherst 1980 – 83 Environmental Design |
BS University of Maine M.Ed. Fitchburg State College C.A.G.S. Boston University |
The Newman School Wentworth Institute of Technology |
BS from Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Groton resident since: | 1991 | 1962 | 1986 | 1975 |
| Family information: | Married; Two children in the G-DRSD | Married 47 years, 2 daughters, 1 son, 6 granddaughters, 3 grandsons. | Single | Married. My wife, Susan, is executive director of Indian Hill Music Center in Littleton. My two children, Dan and Leah, are in their 20′s and living out of town. Both attended the Groton-Dunstable public schools. |
Public service experience |
Josh Degen (incumbent) |
Robert S. Hargraves
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Brooks Lyman
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Stuart Schulman (incumbent) |
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The Issues |
Josh Degen (incumbent) |
Robert S. Hargraves
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Brooks Lyman
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Stuart Schulman (incumbent) |
| Why did you decide to run for this office? | To continue to help Groton’s government run more efficiently and transparently. To help residents with town issues. I want to help create more economic housing and business opportunities as well. To serve the people of Groton is an honor. I hope that my 27 years as an independent local business owner can help with how our town works. |
I will be retired at the end of this year, with the “heavy lifting†of the budget and other related state issues finished within the next two to three months. I will then have the time to devote fully to the Town of Groton. I have extensive experience at both the local and state levels (high school principal, selectman, and state representative) and believe that with this experience, I can give a lot to the Town of Groton. |
To work to put Groton’s government and finances in proper balance. | I’ve lived in Town for 35 years, and I believe in service. The Town has fared well over the past three years, due, in part, to our Board of Selectmen. I would like to see that continue. |
| What is the most important issue facing the town, or this office? How would you attack it? | Economic viability in the face of reduced state aid to our municipality and school departments is paramount. The Selectmen and School Committee must work together to achieve a sustainable structure for the future. | Finances, taxes, finances, taxes, etc. The first attack would be for each Selectman to go over each budget item line by line alone, with no outside distractions or comments. This would ensure that the most basic needs, as each selectman views them, gets prioritized. These priorities would be shared simultaneously with the town manager as he is constructing the budget. It is very important that each selectman do his own evaluation keeping the town manager informed of their own thoughts and priorities, due to these times of lack of funding. It is most important that each selectman and the board of selectmen share their ideas with the finance committee, and that the finance committee be given any and all information that is important to the selectmen and town manager. | Too much spending and too little money. We need a more hard-nosed approach to spending, hiting, and operating practices. | The most important issue facing the town is money. How can we continue to provide the services people expect, in the face of decreasing support from the State, without taxing everyone to death? We have managed over the past three years to submit balanced budgets, within the 2.5% limit, for the Town Government side of the budget. The schools have been hard hit by state cuts, and are in difficult financial straits. The Board of Selectmen has limited authority over the school budget, but we must exert our influence to help get the school district budget under control. |
| What other issues do you want to work on? | I would like to:
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| What personal quality do you think is your strongest asset? | Fairness with a strong backbone coupled with a savvy business head firmly attached to my shoulders |
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Annoying persistence. | I have performed in a leadership role many times over the years, in Government, Corporate, and Non-profit roles. I believe a key to leadership is listening skills, which I have cultivated over the years. I also believe a key to leadership is diplomacy. We have many volunteers working for the Town (including the Board of Selectmen!) and it is important to encourage optimal results without alienating people. But most importantly, there has to be action. I believe the Board, over the past 3 years, has taken many positive actions for the betterment of the Town. |
| What other facts would you like to tell Groton voters? | I would be honored if each and every voter gave me their trust for another three year term. I will work hard with the town’s best interests at heart. Please consider me when casting your vote. | I will be available to each and every member of the Groton community on a daily basis. It is my priority to serve the people of Groton. I have lived here for 48 years, I started my career as a teacher here. I raised my family here, my two daughters are graduates of Groton-Dunstable, and my son is a graduate of Lawrence Academy. | (This answer was added after publication. — Ed.) Since State Aid to Groton is such a small portion of our budget – less than 5% – and since it is subject to change (mostly reductions, it would seem) for various reasons, including politics, I believe that we should wean ourselves off it for Groton’s operating expenses. That is, fund the operations of Groton’s government from the Town’s own resources, and use the unrestricted portion (the vast majority) of the State Aid only for special projects and extraordinary capital expenses. We should rely more on volunteerism than we do. This should go beyond simply serving on committees, to include helping to maintain the infrastructure of the town, particularly our parks and playing fields, and also such functions a maintaining the town’s computer network, perhaps under the direction of a Town IT director (which need not be a full-time position). A list of needs could be generated and posted, and volunteers solicited and assigned to work with the appropriate Town departments. We should also be more active in soliciting monetary donations from those Grotonians interested in helping to support their town, particularly some aspect of the town that they have a personal interest in, such as parks and playing fields, public safety, EMTs, etc. |
I would like to tell the voters of Groton to get well informed and Vote! This is probably preaching to the choir, as I suspect those of you who are reading this are already reasonably well informed and voters. I urge you to get out and talk with your non-voting neighbors and impress upon them the importance of participating in shaping the Town’s future. |
