SWAMPSCOTT — Next month’s local election will only feature one contested race, with two candidates vying for a seat on the Board of Assessors.
Linda Paster, chairwoman of the Board of Assessors, faces a challenge from Diane O’Brien, who owns a tax practice, which is based in Somerville.
The other seven races in the April 24 local election are uncontested.
Peter Spellios is running for re-election to the Board of Selectmen, Ted Delano is running for re-election to the School Committee, Michael McClung is running for another term as moderator, Tript Sembhi is running for Trustee of the Public Library, David Zucker is vying to fill a vacant seat on the Planning Board, Marianne Hartmann is trying for another term on the Board of Health and Richard Callahan is running for re-election to the Housing Authority.
Board of Assessors
Linda Paster, 63, has served on the board of assessors for nine years, including three non-consecutive years as chairwoman. She is seeking her fourth, three-year term.
Paster works as a clerk in the building department at Town Hall. She’s been in that position since 2008 and has worked for the town since 1996 — prior to her current role, she worked in the assessing department.
Paster said the board of assessors handles abatements, exemptions and things that go along with taxes. She said the three-member board deals with real estate, automotive, boat and personal property taxes.
During her time in the assessing department, she became certified in Course 101, which is the basic training program the Division of Local Services, a subdivision of the Department of Revenue, provides for local assessors. Assessors and their staff with valuation responsibilities must complete Course 101 and pass the course examination within two years of their original election or appointment.
“I’ve done three terms, so nine years total, so there’s no reason not to (run) and I enjoy it,” Paster said. “It’s fulfilling.”
Paster cites her experience as a reason people should vote for her, and if elected, said she would focus on keeping the public aware, making sure public questions are answered and making sure the level of transparency continues. She said the board has worked hard to accomplish that so the elderly are able to access the exemptions that are available to them.
Diane O’Brien, 55, said as the owner of a tax practice, she prepares tax returns for a living. She’s an enrolled agent through the IRS, which is a licensed position, a designation she’s had since 1992.
“It’s kind of in my wheelhouse,” said O’Brien on why she decided to run. “I understand procedures and tax rates. I thought it would be the best way to contribute to the town.”
O’Brien said she also wanted to run because of the lack of competition in the local election. When she took out papers, O’Brien said she thought there would be no contested races and thought it was distressing that no one was stepping up.
O’Brien is also on the For the Love of Swampscott board and is the PTO treasurer for Swampscott Middle School. She has a 13-year-old daughter at the middle school. She’s previously served as PTO treasurer for Clarke Elementary School.
“I love this town and I want to serve it the best I can,” O’Brien said.
Board of Selectmen
Peter Spellios, 46, is running for a second, three-year term on the five-member Board of Selectmen. He works as a principal at Transom Real Estate in Boston.
“I have become convinced that continuity in town government is really important and for years, Swampscott didn’t have people on the (board of) selectmen and school committee that served more than one term, and that didn’t allow people to use what they learned in their first term in subsequent years,” Spellios said.
Spellios said there’s a lot of initiatives the board has started and his hope is that they can now work to institutionalize the mindset and continue to ensure that officials make quality of life investments, but also slow future tax growth.
“I think what I want to focus on (is a) continuation of what we’ve been doing with slowing tax growth, which requires a vigilant attention to revenue growth and limiting expenses,” he said. “Secondly, I believe that Swampscott is long overdue in terms of investing in a new elementary school and it is something that we have to do, and we have to make sure we do it right. I’m excited that we have a real collegial atmosphere among all boards and committees to make sure we get it done and we get it done right.”
School Committee
Ted Delano, 50, a Swampscott Police detective, is running for a third, three-year term on the five-member school committee. He’s been with the Swampscott Police Department for 27 years.
“I think that beginning my third term, you have the unique perspective of how the budget of the school operates and living within our means of the budget (and) that is important, but at the same time, representing all the kids in the district from the different schools to the different groups within the student body, whether they’re the athletes, or the drama, or the robotics,” Delano said. “We’re lucky to have such committed kids within Swampscott and I’m privileged enough to represent them.”
Going forward, Delano said there’s some issues within the district’s elementary schools that need to be addressed. He said the schools are subpar. The town has been accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) for replacement of Hadley Elementary School, and school officials have proposed a consolidated K-5 elementary school to replace the district’s three elementary schools.
“I look forward to moving ahead in a direction of solving the problems in our elementary schools with the thought process of demonstrating the needs of the kids to the entire community,” Delano said.
Planning Board
David Zucker, 33, is vying to fill a vacant seat on the five-member Planning Board — JR Young has opted not to run for re-election.
Zucker has been living in Swampscott for about three years and has served as a Town Meeting member for the last two Town Meetings. He works as an attorney in Boston, a real estate litigator.
“Our first son was born about a year and a half ago, so that really kickstarted me in wanting to be involved in the future of the town now that I have someone to think about at home as well,” Zucker said.
Zucker said he’s excited about working with current board members to address unique zoning challenges in town and working to implement the town’s Master Plan. He said he would also be focused on the revitalization of Humphrey Street, Vinnin Square and the area around the train station.
He said he’s interested in making Swampscott more transit-oriented by having attractive commercial and residential opportunities near the train station, so more people can live in town and work in the city. He’s also interested in increasing the town’s affordable housing stock.
“I think that people should vote for me because I’m excited about the prospect of helping Swampscott grow moving forward and working with current members of the planning board to make sure we do that effectively and creatively,” Zucker said.
Trustee of the Public Library
Tript Sembhi, 38, is running for her first, three-year term as a trustee. She was appointed in December after another trustee stepped down.
Sembhi works as a marketing coordinator and agent at Sagan Realtors in town. She has been on the fundraising committee for the Swampscott Public Library for the past two years and is also on the board for HAWC in Salem.
“I think it’s a great library and I’d like to be an advocate for it in the community,” Sembhi said. “It’s a great resource.”
Sembhi said she would focus on making sure the board is constantly plotting for the future of the library, making sure it’s a part of the community and making sure people know it’s a resource.
Moderator
Michael McClung, 57, is running for a third, one-year term as town moderator. The town moderator runs Town Meeting.
McClung said he continues to work on involving more people, encouraging people to run for Town Meeting, educating them on how Town Meeting works and helping them to influence the process.
McClung said the moderator’s unofficial role is to be the spokesperson for participatory democracy in town. His official role also includes appointing members of the Finance and Capital Improvement committees.
McClung serves as a Town Meeting member and has served on several town boards, including the Finance Committee and Article 6 Committee.
Board of Health and Housing Authority
Marianne Hartmann and Richard Callahan, who are running for reelection to the Board of Health (three-year term) and Housing Authority (five-year term) respectively, could not be reached for comment.
