Mailers, meetups, magic in campaign’s final days
Candidates had to file new campaign finance disclosures 30 days after the March 31 vote.
Cheese, magic, and postcards were on the menu as candidate Sam Hiersteiner made his final push for votes in this year’s Select Board race.
Dean Banfield emptied his own election account, new disclosures show, and emerged victorious in 2026’s lone contested municipal campaign — despite a money disadvantage.
Candidates had to file new disclosures 30 days after the March 31 vote. Hiersteiner was a day late with his filing, which covered the final eight days of the race and any post-election expenses.
Hiersteiner’s biggest last-minute expense was $2,853.11 for a campaign mailer. He logged just over $2,000 in “hospitality” bills from The Cheese Shop on Walden Street and a magician who performed for children at a pre-election rally.
Hiersteiner paid another $515.80 to his cousin’s company for graphic design services after already reporting just over $1,500 in payments in a prior filing.
His eleventh-hour spending also included $76.78 to Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — for “online marketing” as he presented his message with sponsored social media posts.
Hiersteiner ended with $9,966.90 in fundraising. He spent $10,770.35 between campaign payments and out-of-pocket expenses and finished the cycle with $117.82 on hand.
Banfield finished with $3,456.08 in fundraising, plus $1,038.25 in personal loans. He spent every dime, including $2,570.94 for his own postcards and $839.16 to himself to repay part of the loan. He forgave the remaining $199.09.
“It’s expensive to run a campaign,” he told The Acton Bridge in the race’s final days.
Among the uncontested candidates, the School Committee’s Drew Magliozzi closed out his candidacy by reimbursing volunteer Claudia Weber for just over $500 in campaign expenses. He finished with $389.84 on hand.
Karlen Reed logged no new spending in the finale of her unopposed Town Moderator bid, leaving a $1,000 personal loan in her election account as of mid-April.
Stephan Bader didn’t spend any money in his Housing Authority reelection campaign.
Winning candidates started their new terms after last month’s Town Meeting. Hiersteiner vowed to stay involved in town government, despite his loss, and the Select Board appointed him to the Economic Vitality Committee with an April 29 vote.
