SWAMPSCOTT — Less than a week before the town’s elections, residents and local officials are showing support for their preferred Select Board candidates.
With two Select Board seats up for grabs on April 25, voters will have to choose two out of three candidates — incumbent Select Board Vice Chair David Grishman, Doug Thompson, and Stefanie Neumann — to serve three-year terms.
Select Board Chair Neal Duffy endorsed Grishman and Thompson in an open letter this week.
“I have worked with and know both David and Doug, and feel they both possess the commitment, passion, and integrity needed to keep Swampscott moving in the right direction,” Duffy wrote.
In the letter, Duffy referenced Thompson’s run for 8th Essex District state representative in September, and his dedication to Swampscott’s environmental vision while serving as vice chair of the Climate Action Plan Committee.
Duffy added that during and since Thompson’s run for the State House, the candidate regularly attended municipal meetings, knocked on doors, and spent time and energy listening to Swampscott residents’ concerns.
“You would be hard pressed to find anyone in Swampscott who has spent more time over the last two years listening to Swampscott residents about their needs and concerns than Doug Thompson,” Duffy said. “I have witnessed Doug’s commitment to moving with the purposeful urgency necessary to take on this existential threat, as well as his ability to lead, collaborate, be flexible, and patient.”
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Thompson spoke about his goal of establishing a long-term economic development strategy with community input.
“I’m very grateful for Neal’s support. He is a very thoughtful, respected member of our Swampscott community, and I hope to follow in his footsteps by being someone who’s open to listening to everybody, and making sure everybody has a voice,” Thompson said.
Both Grishman and Duffy were elected to the Select Board in September 2020. Duffy said that he supports Grishman because he saw firsthand how the vice chair could lead effectively through hard times.
Duffy also wrote that Grishman’s leadership helped start projects such as the construction of a new elementary school and the creation of veterans’ affordable housing. He praised Grishman’s financial discipline as well as his character, calling him an empathetic person who possesses “the unique capability to dream big and the work ethic and commitment to see those dreams realized.”
“I am proud that as a Select Board and as a community we not only managed to navigate through that period, but thanks to the commitment, work, and leadership of public servants like David, we accomplished an incredible amount of generational, positive change,” Duffy said.
In an interview with Grishman Tuesday, he said that he had not yet read Duffy’s letter, but that he had become close with the Select Board chair over the course of their first terms.
Grishman added that he understands why Duffy also endorsed Thompson. He said Thompson shared his and Duffy’s vision for the Town of Swampscott, and could see the candidate contributing positively to the Select Board’s work over the past three years.
“Doug has committed to me when we’ve talked that he wants to see through a lot of these efforts that Neal Duffy, myself, and other members of the Select Board have proposed and put forward,” Grishman said.
Neumann received a total of five endorsement letters from Swampscott residents.
Tristan Smith ran for the 8th Essex District State Representative seat along five other candidates in September. In his letter of support, he praised Neumann’s dedication to the Swampscott community, noting that Neumann left Swampscott to pursue education in astronomy and biomedical engineering before returning to the community to raise her kids.
Smith added that he thought Neumann would be ready to get to work on a number of Swampscott’s projects.
“We need Stefanie Neumann’s fresh perspective, commitment to civility, and love for Swampscott on our Select Board,” Smith said. “She will be ready to work on day one for the people of Swampscott as we look at potentially generational changes with regards to important issues of housing, schools, and the town finances, particularly regarding upcoming projects at the Hawthorne site and the soon-to-be former Hadley School site.”
Swampscott resident Ellen Ziff wrote that she met Neumann at the Hawthorne by the Sea open house, and wound up discussing a number of issues concerning Swampscott. She said she liked the fact that Neumann was not a politician and would bring a woman’s perspective to the Select Board.
“Stefanie Neumann has the intelligence, business background, independence and inner strength to help guide our board back towards being more accountable, transparent and most importantly, the ability to be civil,” Ziff wrote. “She’s promised to listen to all sides of issues the town will be deciding on and has made it clear to residents that they will have a voice. I take her at her word.”
Swampscott resident Kenneth Shultzer also wrote that he supported Neumann because he considered her a qualified candidate without a political agenda. Residents Edward Mulvey and Susan Swigor also endorsed Neumann for her dedication to community and business expertise.
In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Neumann said she was grateful for her community’s support.
“I really appreciate them taking the time to write beautiful letters endorsing me,” Neumann said. “I hope that it persuades people to vote for me because I take to heart everything they say and people should too. They’re very trustworthy, reliable people.”
