We’re four weeks away from Abington’s Annual Town Elections. There are five candidates for two open seats on the Board of Selectmen. Each week, Abington News will pose a question to the candidates and post their responses.
Week One features some background information on the candidates and their response to the questions: Why are you running and what are three things you will focus on if elected?
(Responses are provided based on the order they were received.)
ALEX BEZANSON
AGE: 64
ADDRESS: 761 Randolph St
OCCUPATION: Self employed builder/contractor
FAMILY: Wife, Lisa; Son and Daughter in Law-Brian & Jen
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Founder of HUG Foundation of MA, Founder of Abington Substance Awareness Coalition
Why are you running and what are three things you will focus on if elected?
I am running for the BOS because I think this is a critical time in Abington with a new Town Manager and the pandemic that will create budget issues for years to come.I realized when I was on the BOS from 2015-2018 that there is definitely a learning curve to being on the board. You hope to accomplish many things but government inherently moves slowly. (I chose not to run for re election in 2018 as I was a candidate for State Representative.
3 things I would like to accomplish:
1.Hire a town planner, hopefully in partnership with Rockland or Whitman. We need to focus on more commercial development with the expansion of Rt 18, the safety upgrades in the Rt 123 corridor and with the new master developer at Union Point.
2. I would like to see an inventory of all our parks and playground and come up with a plan to upgrade all parks. I would fund this with borrowed money to be paid back on an annual basis with Community Preservation funds and grants. (Not tax increases). This is a project I started working on in 2017 while on the BOS
3. We need to train all our department heads to aggressively seek out state and federal grants and possibly hire a part time grant writer.
MIKE KOLODZIEJ
AGE: 39
ADDRESS: 38 Lantern Ln
OCCUPATION: Firefighter/Paramedic Town of Abington
FAMILY: Wife, Courtney; Children: JJ, 21, Madison, 17, Kylie, 17, Sage, 15, Riley, 14, James, 6, and Louie, our 3-year-old Silver Lab
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Member of St. Bridget Parish, Local 2080, MDA Fund Raising Committee, SAFE Instructor (teaches fire safety in the schools)
Why are you running and what are three things you will focus on if elected?
My wife Courtney and I, along with our 6 kids have lived in town now for close to 10 years. We as a family love our little town of Abington. Our children have attended the Abington school system. Our family has and continues to utilize everything Abington has to offer, including town fields for sports, Island Grove for swimming or just attending one of the great annual town events like the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, or concerts at the bandstand. I found myself, like many others do, voicing my concerns to my wife about town issues but never really doing anything about it. When I heard there was an open seat on the board, I decided what better way to try to make positive changes and do more than just complain, then to run for Selectman.
I want residents to know I will be their voice on the board. I’ve talked to many residents during the campaign and several issues in town seem to resonate. One issue on residents radar, is the ongoing police study and finding out why we have such a high rate of officer turnover; as well as the upcoming Police Chief search in 2021. Another issue brought up to me by several Veterans in town, is the accessibility to the Veterans agent as well the fact that he is shared with the Town of Whitman. I understand there are several reasons we have a shared agent, but Id like to talk to him and see how we can help him, help us. Finally, like most residents in any other town, general infrastructure of the town is a pressing issue. Residents want to see smooth roads, intersection upgrades and clean parks. If elected, I want people to know they can come to me with concerns and I will always do my best to find a way to address them.
SUSAN FERREIRA-EMERY
AGE: It’s just a number but I am over 21
ADDRESS: 3 Shaw Ave
OCCUPATION: Owner/Operator Cake Connections; also I give ServSafe Classes for the National Restaurant Association.
FAMILY: I am married to my wonderful hisband, Paul Emery. I have a son and he has a wife and we have 2 Grand babies.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: I have been a mamber of the Abington Band Parents, Den Leader for the Boy Scouts , Rotarian, and presently serve on the Abington Board of Health
Why are you running and what are three things you will focus on if elected?
3 things I would like to focus on for the town of Abington
1. Emergency Prep…I feel we could do better. I think we need to look into what we do in case of power outages, pandemics, and a whole host of unexpected occasions
2. I would like to see our town be more current with our web site as well as being more accessable for all of our citizens
3. I would like to focus on a balance between promoting business and residents needs. I feel there is a formula or ratio that could improve the quality of life for all.
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