SWAMPSCOTT — In the second virtual forum of the week, candidates for the positions of town moderator and Select Board talked about diversity, the proposed new elementary school building, the rail trail and affordable housing.
Thursday night’s event was organized by Swampscott’s Democratic and Republican Town Committees ahead of the April 27 town election.
Current Select Board Chair Peter Spellios reinforced the achievements of the town over the past six years he has been on the board, but said there are more changes he wants to make. He especially noted the town’s plans to hire a full-time diversity officer, saying it was an important step for the town.
“Someone came to a Select Board meeting early this year, and they said they were talking to a Black friend that said they don’t feel safe anywhere in Swampscott, and that’s not OK,” Spellios said. “There should be no corner in our town where we don’t make efforts to make sure we are open and welcoming and inclusive.”
Select Board candidate Mary Webster, who has previously served on several boards and committees in town, agreed the position was a good idea, although she said she wasn’t sure if it needed to be a full-time position.
Webster declined to make a statement either way on whether she supported the building of the new elementary school building, saying her opinion was “personal,” and that she wanted to be sure the old Hadley Elementary School building was put to good use if a new school was built.
However, she specified that she was not in favor of using eminent domain to take control of land in that or any other project in town, something that has been mentioned as an option with respect to diverting traffic from the school through the neighboring Unitarian Universalist church property.
“There has to be another way,” Webster said. “More conversations with the UU church or neighbors to really make them feel like they’re going to be part of something big and they really feel it’s the right thing to do. In order to do that it’s going to be lots of communication and without a threat … It’s up to them. It’s their property and they purchased it.”
Webster acknowledged several times throughout the conversation she was not fully informed about the details of goings-on at Town Hall, avoiding answering questions about town finances because she didn’t have all the information.
On the subject of affordable housing and development in Swampscott, both candidates agreed that more housing was needed, but that the town needed to be on board with new projects, pointing to the controversial Elm Place 40B project, which has been approved by the state despite town opposition.
“I wonder if the reason this particular developer thought they would be able to do that is because we have been allowing some of these buildings to take place, and what’s wrong with just one more?” Webster said, referring to recent market-rate and luxury developments such as White Court and The Landing at Vinnin Square.
“The reality is, there are tools we need to be using to be ready for these projects,” Spellios said. “They are coming, whether we support them or not.”
In addition to Spellios and Webster, moderator candidates Charles Patsios and Michael McClung, the current town moderator, discussed why they would be the best men for the position.
Patsios said he was running because he had felt shut out of town politics and wanted more transparency, mentioning a moment in the March 1 special town meeting in which McClung had muted Patsios’ microphone on Zoom.
“As moderator, I will do my utmost to ensure our residents are respected, and transparency in our town government will be paramount in my tenure,” Patsios said.
McClung defended his actions, saying they were justified and broke no rules.
“I’m here to ensure full and fair debate, but full and fair debate is not the same thing as endless debate,” he said.
