Meet the Candidates

The annual "Meet the Candidates" event this year, on May 1, was sponsored by the Council on Aging (COA) in cooperation with The Sandisfield Times. Held at Old Town Hall, at least fifty residents attended the meeting with another ten or so joining on Zoom.

COA Chair Barbara Cormier was host, assisted by Ron Bernard, production manager and reporter for The Times. Speaking to the candidates, Ron said, "I want to say thank you very much for stepping up and volunteering for what are often thankless jobs."

Each candidate answered general questions about why they were running, their credentials, their service on other town boards, and what they hoped to accomplish. However, most of the event was focused on the competing candidates for Select Board and Town Clerk.

Select Board Candidates

Jeff Bye, running unopposed for the one-year seat vacated by Bob Fedell, spoke of his three decades with the U.S. space agency NASA and, after moving to Sandisfield nearly eleven years ago, his leadership on the Broadband Committee. He has served on other boards as well, and currently chairs the Planning Board.

Toward the end of the meeting, following an audience question about how the three candidates had voted regarding the purchase of EMS protective equipment at the Special Town Meeting last November, Jeff said he had been appalled "when we found out the condition of some of the safety equipment" and how it put "our firefighters and EMS folks at risk." He added that "what we have to do is to make sure our EMS people have the equipment they need to minimize the risks they take every day. To not do that, in my opinion, is just shameful for us."

Alex Russo, in a race with Steve Seddon for a three-year term, explained that he views himself as a "Bridge of Unity" to help heal the "huge divide in this town."

He encouraged an open-door policy at Select Board meetings. He said that many grants are available to the Town and committed to applying for them.

Asked about his background, Alex said, "I've been all over the place, honestly." He outlined a series of workplaces, including "a few years" in auto repair in Florida, his own video companies with special effects including drone piloting, nonprofits, medical labs, investigative journalism, and currently "studying engineering with a major in photonic engineering." He said he had been a Sandisfield resident for three years.

Steve Seddon, in the race for the three-year seat, cited his four years on the Board and his chairmanship for the last two. Steve outlined in specific detail what he sees as his accomplishments on the Board.

If re-elected, he would seek to maintain the progress the Town has made in many aspects of governance, including Town Hall staffing, the highway department, and emergency services.

"Continuity is what I'm looking for," He said, adding that he'd like to pursue the work he'd started. "We're getting close to the finish line. I'd like to continue."

Town Clerk

Amanda Leavenworth, when asked about the most important aspect of the Town Clerk position, answered, "Being there."

Amanda currently serves as appointed Monterey Town Clerk. She acknowledged that she has serious family commitments - "I'm raising a sixth generation of Sandisfielders and I'm proud of that." When asked why she had left earlier positions in Town government without explanation, she cited personal family commitments as well as complicated hourly demands that didn't jibe with the job description.

She said that in Monterey she had written protocols for the office in an "ever-expanding 200-page continuity plan." She added that she would like to produce that in Sandisfield, as well, in order to have "an idea of what records are in the clerk's office, and where they are, and creating that plan so that if, in the event, somebody cannot continue in that role, at any point, there is some sort of blueprint for them to follow."

Douglas Miner, the incumbent Town Clerk, when asked about the most important aspects of the job replied, "Maturity and professionalism and the ability to deal with the Massachusetts Attorney General and Secretary of State. Commitment to the office." He added, "It is essential that you have people who fully and completely and unquestionably buy into that commitment."

The meeting closed after almost two hours of in-depth discussion.