Candidate Statements_Acushnet Selectboard

Eric Chew

It is with great enthusiasm that I ask for your vote on Satur­day, May 13th for the opportu­nity to serve on Acushnet’s Selectboard. It has been my privilege to work on behalf of the residents of our great town as a member of the Finance Commit­tee and for the past two years and especially during the uncertain times of the pandemic. As part of the Emergency Management Department, I volunteered over 280 hours with the COVID testing team and helped to distribute produce for the USDA Farm to Families program. I am a married father of 4, a graduate of Fisher College, and currently work as an IT Director at a local mechanical engineering firm.  

Over the past 2 years I have become concerned with the lack of continuity and priorities in our town government and the festering issues that are discussed endlessly but never resolved. For example, what are we doing to fix our aging infrastructure? Recent town beautification projects have been nice, but what are we doing to keep Acushnet affordable for the taxpayers? Why haven’t we locked in a rate contract with the City of New Bedford for our water? Why did we purchase holiday lights for our town buildings and other unnecessary miscellaneous items instead of using CARES money to replace aging equipment for our first responders?  

Our town has seen 4 town administrators since 2018, 3 with contracts and one as an interim. Our Master Plan has become obsolete, forcing us to miss out on potentially millions of dollars in grant opportunities. We also have interim staff serving in the positions of Building Commissioner/Building Inspector, Treasurer/Collector and Town Accountant because we have not invested in finding qualified, permanent talent. In 2022, when the attempt was made to take away department head employment contracts and make them employees at will they saw no other choice but to protect themselves by forming a union. A move that could have easily been avoided by open and honest communication from the Selectboard but will now cost the taxpayers additional money. 

In January of this year, the company that owns PJ Keating filed a $50 million federal lawsuit against our town and many in positions of leadership. Our battle with this company has dragged on since 2020 and cost the town hundreds of thousands in legal fees to date. The facility has been rendered inoperable and many continue to be out of work. It is time for us to work collaboratively with PJ Keating to stop the hemorrhaging of taxpayer dollars and to get residents back to work. 

If elected, I pledge to be a fiscally conservative and responsible leader who advocates for high quality employees and services to care for our residents. 

I want to thank everyone who encouraged me to run for this position. 

For additional information please visit my Facebook candidate page at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100091352254520. 

 

David Wojnar

Hey there, I wanted to share with you that I am seeking re-election to Acushnet’s Board of Selectmen. For those of you that do not know me I am a husband and father, a Senior Executive for the hospitality industry’s largest e-commerce marketplace, a coach and I had the pleasure of serving on the Acushnet Board of Selectmen for 18 years before taking some time off before getting elected back to the board in 2020 during the height of Covid. 

During my “first stint” on the board I worked with many volunteers and past Selectmen to improve Pope Park and the Parting Ways complex, combine Fire and EMS, build a new police station and library all while trying to maintain our small town quality of life. But that was then and this is now and as my grandfather would tell me during my baseball career “you are only as good as your next at bat” — which is why I am seeking re-election on May 13, 2023. 

I understand fully people are fed up with their tax bill, which is why I support a “live within our means” budget and a tax shift plan that would shift some of the tax burden from you the home owner to bigger businesses in town like PJ Keating and Eversource. In addition, I support amending our by-laws to allow over 55 housing develop­ment which would allow long time residents the ability to stay in Acushnet while also generating new tax growth without impacting our schools. I support the improve­ment and reconstruction of our town roads to make them safer and more pedestrian friendly. I have led the effort to improve recreational opportunities at both the Acushnet Riverview Park and Lake Street and don’t want to stop there. 

Lastly, I am running for re-election because I love our town and I feel now more than ever EXPERIENCE matters. I will utilize my experience both as an elected official and as an executive to make good decisions on your behalf. 

But most importantly I will continue to work with my colleagues on the Board (Kevin Gaspar and Bob Hinckley). We bring different perspectives and different styles to the table but I think it works because we care about Acushnet and we care about you! 

Thank you for reading and I hope to see you leading up to Election Day, May 13th. 

If you have any questions please contact me at davidwojnar@yahoo.com 

Best regards, 

 

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