Selectmen Candidates Face Off in Third Annual Debate

Natick residents filled the Morse Institute Library meeting room Monday night to watch three of the four Board of Selectmen candidates participate in the third annual Natick Forever Political Action Committee Selectmen Debate.

Candidates Carol Gloff, Nicholas Mabardy and Ted Wynne had the chance to respond to each question posed by Natick Forever chairman and debate moderator Jimmy Brown. The fourth candidate, Dr. Lawrence Delaney, was unable to attend the debate due to a previous ban from the library. Brown said Delaney was given a chance to write a letter to be read at the debate, but did not submit a statement.

Carol Gloff has been a member of the Board of Selectmen for six years. Gloff expressed comfort in the current level of public safety in Natick, but shared that residents have expressed to her concerns that Natick Collection consumes too much of the police department’s time. Regarding Natick’s public education, she mentioned the student’s MCAT scores, although strong, can be improved. In answering the most popular question submitted by the public prior to the debate, Gloff advocated in support of a Fall 2010 Annual Town Meeting warrant to suggest a committee to consider possible consolidation of administrative and facilities management between the schools and the town. The schools and the town should work together to look for ways to “streamline” and to be more efficient and save the taxpayers as much money as possible, she said. When asked why she thinks there is a decline in Town Meeting member applications, Gloff said she thinks many people are not aware of what the position entails and that some may be discouraged by comments at town meetings in the past that some may consider disrespectful. When asked whether she would support increasing taxes and fees or cutting services, she cited her vote at a recent selectmen’s meeting to not raise trash bag fees to the public by 15 percent in order to help close the budget gap as suggested by the recycling committee.

Nicholas Mabardy will leave his post as current Natick police Chief at the end of March and has been with the department for 42 years, something he said has given him the opportunity to listen and learn from Natick residents and learn what’s important to them. Mabardy, whose family has been in town for almost 110 years, said he feels there needs to be more “collaborative accountability” between the public schools and the municipal side of town and that there needs to be more transparency in communication between the selectmen and the town administrator, explaining he feels many residents do not always understand what it happening in town government, although they may follow the meetings. Mabardy, who has served as a town meeting member, said he would not be in support of any tax increases if facing the possibility of cutting services. The chief expressed his concerns for the seniors in the town, saying that more can be done to provide tax relief.

Ted Wynne has a background in law and business and has spent six years as a Town Meeting member and on the school committee, something he said could help his communication with the selectmen and the School Committee. He expressed a need to keep the school system attractive to young families looking to move to town, but said his decisions would reflect a benefit to the town as a whole. Winn said it is important to attract new businesses to town to alleviate the homeowners’ burden and said in order to keep living in town affordable to seniors and other residents it is necessary to increase a commercial tax base. Wynne, like the other two participants, spoke of a need for parking downtown. “There can be no more growth downtown until we can solve that problem,” he said, suggesting a public private partnership could be formed to share the cost of development and revenues generated. Wynne also suggested businesses in town center could close later, allowing those attending shows at the Center for the Arts in Natick and other events to have some nightlife afterward.

 The town will choose two candidates to fill spots on the Board of Selectmen on March 29.