About two dozen people gathered at Mashpee Town Hall Tuesday afternoon, February 8, to support three candidates running for public office in town. Attendees also had the chance to sign several citizens’ petitions to be included on the May Town Meeting warrant that supporters argue will “balance the town’s priorities.”
Chad R.A. Smith, Wendy S. Williams and Arden Russell Cadrin were all present to launch their campaigns for the Mashpee Select Board, Library Board of Trustees and Planning Board, respectively.
Mr. Smith, who came up with the name for the gathering of like-minded Mashpee residents, said “Change Course” is supposed to make people stop and think about how development affects the community.
“Human beings have occupied Mashpee for over 10,000 years,” he said. “All of this development has happened in our lifetime. That’s enough to give anyone pause and really think, especially at this juncture, that we’re planning Mashpee’s future.”
The petitions being passed around included a call for the town to acquire 32 acres of land surrounding Trout Pond; officially designating the area near town hall and Mashpee Community Park the center of town; reading a land acknowledgement at the beginning of select board meetings; and removing an image of the Mashpee Commons from Mashpee police officers’ uniforms and replacing it with the town seal.
The petition regarding Trout Pond received the most signatures, according to a Facebook post from Ms. Williams in the Mashpee Ad Hoc Environmental Coalition Facebook page.
The petition asks town residents to vote to authorize the select board to acquire the roughly 32 acres “by purchase, gift, eminent domain, or otherwise for conservation, open space and passive recreational purposes, for the general public” around the pond.
Gregory J. Auger, the husband of Ms. Williams, was collecting signatures for the petition. Mr. Auger has assisted with scientific research at Trout Pond studying bats and echolocation.
“To see the wildlife that inhabits the place is wonderful, and it obviously needs further protection,” Mr. Auger said. “We want to make sure that there is a very good steward of the property.”
Trout Pond is on property owned by Mashpee Commons.
Richard P. DeSorgher, a member of the Mashpee Historical Commission, collected signatures to name the area near the intersection of Great Neck Road North and Main Street—the area by town hall, Mashpee Community Park and the archives building—as the official center of town.
“With the recent building that has been taking place in our town, there is confusion as to the location of the town center. At least one recent map erroneously named Mashpee Commons the town center,” Mr. DeSorgher said. “This matters for future development and to preserve the history of the town.”
Ms. Williams collected signatures to change the badge on the shoulder of the Mashpee Police Department’s uniforms. The current badge has an image of a building in the Commons; the petition would change it to the newly approved town seal.
“I think it’s important for the town to be the town, not a shopping mall,” she said.
Ms. Williams is also one of the candidates running for public office who was gathering support for her campaign Tuesday afternoon.
When asked why she was running for a seat on the library board, she said, “As a New York Times bestselling author, I believe I have a lot to contribute to the library.”
Ms. Cadrin, who is running for a seat on the planning board, said she never expected to run for the board herself while working as recording secretary for the planning board in the 1990s.
Now that she is, she said she is “committed to community-driven decisions” and “an atmosphere of inclusion for residents to feel connected to their local government.”
Ms. Cadrin has worked in affordable housing for more than 20 years, first as a program assistant for Barnstable County’s HOME Investment Partnership Program—which helps create and preserve affordable housing for low-income households—and most recently as the housing coordinator for Barnstable County.
One of the most important issues facing the planning board, she said, is the development of the Local Comprehensive Plan that will guide the town’s physical development and natural spaces in coming years.
“I feel that I can be a new voice for Mashpee,” she said. “I can share my expertise and knowledge and have a positive impact on the process at this really important time.”
The candidate for select board, Mr. Smith, was surrounded by supporters at town hall as he discussed his ideas for the future of the town.
Mr. Smith moved to Mashpee 10 years ago, he said, because the town combined his passion for conservation and open spaces with a thriving community and commercial space. He is currently the chairman of the Mashpee Conservation Commission.
He has worked most of his life in maritime administration and environmental science, he said.
“Mashpee is so special because it’s a balance of open spaces and some great commercial development,” he said. “It’s a good place to be a resident, but I feel like this balance could be really easily upset if we don’t put it front and center. I’m running to ensure that we don’t lose who we are, going forward.”
He said he hopes to promote interconnected greenspace to protect water resources and the enjoyment of the outdoors. Mr. Smith also owns a business in Bourne and said it is important to balance conservation priorities with business-friendly policies.
“Without commerce, we lack jobs and sound revenue,” he said. “Businesses are very important for us to maintain.
Mr. Smith also said the town needs to address home affordability to ensure that Mashpee residents can afford to stay in town.
“We’re planning Mashpee’s future, and we need to have a balance,” he said.
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