NAHANT — Eugene Canty and David Walsh have thrown their hats in the ring as Board of Selectmen candidates following member Richard Lombard’s announcement that he will retire from the position at the end of his 2020 term.
Canty, a Nahant native and member of the town’s Planning Board, has spent 28 years volunteering on local committees, including the Conservation Commission, the School Committee, and the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Now retired, Canty holds a degree in finance from Boston College and spent his long career in the automobile sector, holding both corporate and retail positions.
“I now have time available to passionately and transparently serve the people of Nahant as their selectman,” he said of his retirement. “I believe my 28 years of experience working on Town committees makes me the most qualified candidate. My knowledge of the inter-working of town boards and the leadership positions held during my years serving on these committees, combined with my professional background in finance, will be instrumental in helping the town move forward.”
David Walsh, also an involved community member, is a 40-year Nahant resident and homeowner who has served on the town’s Housing Authority, Zoning Board of Appeals, Emergency Management Center, Golf Course Committee, and Town Manager Search and Selection Committee.
After more than 30 years working in telecommunications, Walsh founded his own livery business, Nahant Livery.
“As you can see, I have always been involved in Nahant, as so many of you have also,” Walsh said in a public statement. “This town could not exist without its volunteers and I have become acquainted with many of you through your involvement.”
Issues Walsh highlighted as part of his campaign include flooding in the Fox Hill Road and Castle Road area, the multi-million-dollar project needed to repair the sewage pipe to the regional treatment plant, the need to review the Town Charter and suggest changes in compliance with recent laws, and the need to have a “vast improvement in transparency.”
Both candidates have also addressed one of the town’s most pressing issues — Nahant’s ongoing battle to limit Northeastern University’s expansion on East Point.
Walsh listed “communication of all aspects of the Nahant vs. Northeastern University issues” as part of his campaign’s focus, and Canty, who called himself a strong advocate for conservation and open space protections, said he would “embrace the opportunity to sit down with representatives from NU” to discuss what the university hopes to accomplish.
“(I would like to) work with NU on arriving at a solution that is friendlier to the preservation of East Point while helping the university accomplish its goals,” Canty said. “However, I would also ask how destroying parts of an area zoned as a Natural Resource District helps to promote sustainability.
“Just because the state’s Dover Amendment gives educational institutions certain building rights that the ordinary, tax-paying landowner does not have, does not mean that following such a path is the right thing to do if it compromises a natural habitat environment. But I believe we can find mutually agreeable ground.”
He later asked Nahant residents to vote for him come June, adding: “I cannot imagine living anywhere but Nahant, and therefore I am driven to do my part in making our little town be the best it can be for today’s residents and for future generations. My experience serving Nahant, combined with my fiscal management expertise, will enable me to represent the town’s people from an informed and fiscally responsible stance.”
In his statement, Walsh concluded by encouraging fellow Nahanters to reach out to him with any questions or concerns: “I hope I can earn your vote by being honest and transparent regarding any issue. If I do not have an answer immediately, I will let you know and get back to you,” he said.
More information about Canty’s campaign can be found at www.genecantyforselectman.com, or on Facebook at Gene Canty for Selectman. Walsh can be contacted at [email protected].
Nahant’s annual town election is scheduled to take place June 20. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Absentee ballots may be obtained by contacting the town clerk at (781) 581-0018, or by emailing Carol Nelson at [email protected].
