Money, MCI, age in play as Select Board race revs up

Yard signs are on the way. Candidates are downing coffee as they court voters. 

As this year’s Select Board race comes into focus, town finances and development loom large. Fault lines are already emerging around age. 

Acton is facing “monumental and transformative decisions,” candidate Sam Hiersteiner said after his Town Caucus nomination. “It would be a miss if my generation here was not stepping up.”

At a February 19 campaign event, Dean Banfield told attendees he’s trying to be “broadly inclusive.” 

“I am your seat at the table,” he said, “but I’m also the other person’s seat at the table.”

The two men are this year’s only town candidates facing off in a contested race.

Banfield is a retired IT executive with a long track record of involvement in Acton government, including serving on the Finance Committee. 

Hiersteiner helps lead a civic education non-profit and is on the board of directors at Gaining Ground, a non-profit farm fighting hunger. 

“I can’t claim to have the experience that many of the people here have had, but I’m also somebody who loves to learn,” Hiersteiner told The Acton Bridge as voters left the caucus. 

His backers celebrate his work encouraging public participation, especially as officials approach big projects like redevelopment of the shuttered MCI-Acton prison.

Retirees currently hold four of five seats on the Select Board. Hiersteiner said Acton needs “new perspectives and new energy.”

Banfield said he “would prefer not to make” this election about age, calling it “divisive.”

His supporters have touted his town government experience as a plus. He’s also branded himself as an activist holding leaders accountable for things like sustainability promises. 

Some might say, “‘Oh my God, I can’t even live here anymore. You can’t do anything without stumbling over some holy roller on the eco front,’” he said. “Count me in.”

On the issues

Voters at one recent Q&A asked Banfield about the state’s planned Route 2 rotary redesign, his campaign strategy, and more. 

CC King hosted the event with her husband, Tom Tarpey, and told The Bridge she’s curious about where candidates stand on conservation and development.

Hiersteiner has mainly held one-on-one meetings in the campaign’s early weeks. 

On the much-discussed residential tax exemption:

• Banfield calls it “kind of a blunt instrument,” but he would vote to extend it.  He said officials should separately raise the maximum asset limit for Acton’s senior tax exemption so more people could qualify.
• Hiersteiner said he appreciates the RTE’s goal of helping seniors stay in their homes and suggested building age-restricted housing at MCI-Acton. Asked if he’d extend the RTE, he told The Bridge he didn’t “think I can answer that” until he sees an expected report from the town’s Tax Relief Evaluation Task Force.

On municipal finances and town leadership:

• Some might want to “burn it all down,” Banfield said. “I’m not in that camp.” Town Manager Kerry Lafleur is “a smart cookie,” he said — someone he trusts to address issues including an audit that found “material weaknesses” in accounting practices.
• Hiersteiner said “more accountability will serve us,” and “these are all challenges that face us all together.”

Banfield said Acton has “had some big leaps” in its tax bills to pay for school construction projects, in particular. He argues that the town should wait “a couple years” and pay off more school debt before borrowing for public safety and/or public works buildings.

Hiersteiner says he wants to attract new businesses to expand the commercial tax base. Acton must address challenges including spotty cell coverage, limited sewage capacity, and parking to get that extra cash, he said.

Both candidates are eyeing a gauntlet of public forums organized by local groups next month.

Election day is March 31. The voter registration deadline is March 20 at 5 p.m.

Ballots should be available for early in-person absentee voting and mail-in voting during the week of March 9, Town Clerk Kaari Mai Tari told The Bridge.