Politics & Government

Town Election: Selectman Walsh Pulls Papers for Reelection; Another School Committee Candidate Emerges

More candidates emerge for Board of Selectmen and School Committee positions. Foxborough's annual town election is scheduled for May 6.

Foxborough selectman Lynda Walsh has pulled nomination papers for reelection, according to the Town Clerk’s office.

Walsh, who will be completing her second term in the spring, is currently the longest tenured board member. She told Foxborough Patch last month that while she planned to run for reelection she would not make a final decision until she consulted with friends and family.

Her decision became official on Feb. 5 when she pulled nomination papers from the Town Clerk’s office. Walsh joins Foxborough residents Richard Letson and John Gray Jr. as potential candidates for two seats on the town’s executive board. A resident becomes an official ballot candidate after Town Clerk Robert Cutler verifies 50 voters have signed the candidate’s nomination papers. Candidates have until March 18th to submit signed papers. To date, Foxborough Board of Selectmen chair James DeVellis, whose term ends in the spring, has not announced whether he will run for reelection.

Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Letson worked for the Kraft Group as a part-time security guard at Gillette Stadium for the 2011-2012 New England Patriots football season but reportedly opposed a casino in Foxborough, according to the March 2012 Sun Chronicle article.

Gray Jr., president of Biomedical Structures, currently serves on Foxborough’s Advisory Committee with his term expiring in June 2014. He served as AdCom’s chair in 2011. He has set up a Facebook page and Twitter account promoting his candidacy.

Find out what's happening in Foxboroughwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Another political race heating up is for School Committee. There are two three-year seats and one two-year seat available on the committee. As of Feb. 5, School Committee members Kathleen Adair, Martha P. Slattery and Christina “Tina” Belanger have each pulled papers for reelection. Former Foxborough School Committee member Catherine Maureen Owens Kominsky, who resigned from her seat in June, citing issues with the committee as reason for her departure, has pulled papers to enter the race this spring as well. She will be seeking a three-year term

Adair has also pulled papers for a three-year term and Belanger has pulled papers for the lone two-year term. Belanger replaced Kominsky in July and will look to finish the term if reelected. Slattery did not specify which term she will be running for, according to the Town Clerk’s office.

Joining the list of school committee candidates is Stephen P. Udden, who pulled papers on Feb. 5. Udden currently serves on the Southeastern Regional School District Committee. Udden, Technical Account Manager for Invensys in Foxborough, served on the town’s Advisory Committee for three years (2009-2012) and was liaison to the school committee, board of health, veteran’s affairs, Human Services & Senior Center and Fire Department of public safety.

Udden has been one of many active families with the Burrell PTO since 2006, sat on the Burrell School Council, Maybelle Burrell Scholarship Committee, in 2011 as the “chair” for Burrell School Business Donations for the 2011 B.I.T Auction, Managed Annual B.I.T Providence Bruins nights for years, 2012 Ahern Middle School’s Founder’s day Float committee and is a sitting Board member and volunteer on the Foxborough Founders’ Day Planning Committee since 2010.

“It is not often that one crosses paths with a person who displays the ideals of honesty and integrity as well as Steve Udden,” said Gray Jr. via Linkedin. “I've had the pleasure of knowing him through Foxborough's Advisory Committee … an appointed committee to serve as an advisor and watchdog on all business brought before town meeting. Steve is insightful, broad based and passionate. He is only comfortable with truth. These are the characteristics that define Steve Udden and these are the characteristics that I value. To any readers of this note, I recommend Steve wholeheartedly and without reservation.”

In other election news, residents Joseph Lally (candidate for Library Trustee) and Robert Garber (candidate for Board of Water & Sewer Commissioners) each submitted over the 50 signatures required to become official ballot candidates. Cutler will review the signatures before certifying their nomination papers.

Here’s a complete list of residents who have pulled papers as of Feb. 5:

  • Jospeh Lally, Granite Street, Library Trustee, 3 years
  • Robert Garber, Tara Ann Drive, Board of Water & Sewer Commissioners, 3 years
  • Robert Cutler, Summer Street, Town Clerk, 3 years
  • Kathleen Adair, McKenzie Lane, School Committee, 3 years
  • Catherine Maureen Owens Kominsky, Farewell Street, School Committee, 3 years
  • Francis J. Spillane, Country Club, Town Moderator, 3 years
  • Richard R. Letson, East Street, Selectmen, 3 years
  • Christina M. Belanger, Milton Lane, School Committee, 2 years
  • John R. Gray Jr., North High Street, Selectmen, 3 years
  • Eric S. Arvedon, Fairway Lane, Board of Health, 3 years
  • Martha P. Slattery, Joseph Road, School Committee, 3 years
  • Ronald P. Bresse, North High Street, Planning Board, 3 years
  • Susan M. Burlone, Kingsbury Lane, Library Trustee, 3 years
  • Stephen P. Udden, Carmine Avenue, School Committee, 3 years
  • Robert J. Hadge, Shoreline Drive, Board of Assessors, 3 years
  • Lynda Walsh, Pond Avenue, Selectmen, 3 years

Here is a look at what positions are available this year and who is up for reelection (if the current town officials choose to run for another term), according Cutler:

  • Board of Selectmen (three-year term): This seat is currently held by BOS chair James DeVellis.
  • Board of Selectmen (three-year term): This seat is currently held by selectman Lynda Walsh.
  • School Committee (three-year term): This seat is currently held by Katie F. Adair.
  • School Committee (three-year term): This seat is currently held by Martha P. Slattery.
  • School Committee (two-year term): This seat is currently held by Christina M. Belanger, who replaced Catherine Kominsky in July. This is a two-year term because Belanger served the first year of Kominsky's three-year term. 
  • Water & Sewer Commissioner (three-year term): This seat is currently held by William C. Euerle, who has informed the town he plans to retire at the end of his fourth term this May.
  • Board of Health (three-year term): This seat is currently held by vice chair Eric S. Arvedon.
  • Planning Board (three-year term): This seat is currently held by Ronald P. Bresse.
  • Board of Assessors (three-year term): This seat is currently held by Robert J. Hadge.
  • Boyden Library Trustee (three-year term): This seat is currently held by Jeffrey M. Lovely.
  • Boyden Library Trustee (three-year term): This seat is currently held by Janet S. Pineault.
  • Housing Authority (five-year term): This position is currently held by Susan E. Perez.
  • Town Moderator (three-year term): This position is currently held by Francis "Frank" Spillane.
  • Town Clerk (three-year term): This position is currently held by Robert E. Cutler, Jr.

Nomination papers, which can be picked up at Town Hall, must be submitted to the Town Clerk’s office no later than March 18 at 5 p.m. The election is scheduled for May 6.


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