Sam Hiersteiner’s body of work qualifies him for Select Board

There’s a not-so-quiet narrative floating around town about Sam Hiersteiner: too young, too new, not enough committee time. I hear it. And I think it misses the point entirely.

Sam isn’t a kid. He’s a husband, a father with children in our schools, a homeowner paying property taxes. He sits on the board of Gaining Ground, the farm right here in Acton that grows food for people who need it. Grow food, give food. That’s not a hobby. That’s Sam’s value system on display.

His professional life reads the same way: decades of work in social impact, building safe digital education tools, access through better communications, food justice, global health. He understands that accessibility isn’t an amenity. It’s democracy. A senior slips on an icy sidewalk in February and loses their mobility and, with it, their ability to show up. A young parent can’t make Town Meeting because they’re driving kids to practice. If democracy only works for people who can physically be in the room, we’re missing more than half the town. Sam gets that.

Here’s what I’ve experienced and heard from people who have sat down with him: He doesn’t hand you a resume. He asks questions; he listens. He wants to know what worries you, what you think is working, what we’re missing. That’s not a campaign tactic. That’s a skill set.

We say we want new voices. New energy. A fresh look and approach. And now the objection is he hasn’t logged enough subcommittee hours? That the “rite of passage” is through the Finance Committee? Thirty years of volunteering is admirable. It is not a prerequisite for public office, and elections aren’t coronations.

March 31 is election day. Before then, sit with Sam. I met him just weeks ago; I’m impressed. I think you will be, too.

Brian Farber

Ash Street 

The author is a member of the town Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Commission writing on his own behalf.