SWAMPSCOTT — At Town Election on April 25, expect to see Stefanie Neumann’s name on the ballot. Last week, Neumann announced that she is officially in the race for a seat on the Select Board.
According to a press release from her campaign, Neumann has a Ph.D in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and was a graduate of Swampscott High School.
“I hope to apply my sense of equity and my analytic skills to the issues facing our community in order to find practical, economical and common sense solutions,” Neumann said.
In 1984, Neumann assisted Swampscott Town Treasurer Jack Paster in developing financial software.
“I believe in transparency and open communication. Taxpayers have a right to know how their hard-earned money is being spent, and how to ensure their opinions about those expenditures are being successfully communicated to the powers that be,” Neumann said.
Neumann, born and raised in Swampscott, went on to double major in astronomy and physics at Bryn Mawr College before earning her Pd.D.
“A patriotic person, Stefanie wanted to serve her country, so she worked as a defense contractor on classified projects, obtaining several top secret clearances,” the press release said.
Once Neumann became a mother, she decided to raise her children at home in Swampscott. During this time she created an “internet-based business.”
“After Stefanie’s return to Swampscott, her children also progressed through the Swampscott school system, completing their elementary school experience at Clarke and then attending the middle and high schools,” the press release said.
Her parents, Gerhard Neumann and Clarice Neumann, “contributed much to improving Swampscott.” She wants to follow in their footsteps.
“Her father preserved the natural beauty of our seaside town by persuading the town authority not to allow high-rise buildings to replace the burnt-down New Ocean House hotel,” according to the press release.
Her mother played a big role in getting the Fish House on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
“Stefanie wants to pick up their baton and contribute to the well-being and improvement of town now that she’s an empty-nester and can commit the time necessary to examine objectively what needs the town has and the means to provide for those needs,” the press release said.
Her campaign priority is to learn about local residents’ concerns for the town.
“If elected, she ultimately hopes to improve communication and transparency in town matters,” the press release said. “She is an independent thinker who believes that the Select Board should be where the town’s top policy-making agency discusses agenda items openly and publicly and makes decisions based on the most practical, cost-effective, and common sense outcomes for the town residents.”
In the 2023 election on April 25, there are two open Select Board seats.
The other elected offices that will be on the ballot are one moderator, one Board of Accessor member, two School Committee members, one Trustee of the Public Library member, one Board of Health member, one Planning Board member, and one Housing Authority member.
