A University of Massachusetts professor and several alumni are among the nine candidates competing in the April 3 election for two seats on the Amherst Select Board.
Paul Bobrowski was a UMass student and lived in Amherst from 1975-1985. He moved back into town three years ago. He is running for the Select Board because he believes it needs a fresh perspective.
"I am disturbed by the lines drawn on issues like the parking garage," he said. He attributes some problems to a lack of communication," he said. "For example, I can't get a definitive answer when I ask how many parking spaces will be gained with the new garage."
Bobrowski also believes his skills as a lawyer would help on the Select Board.
From his time attending UMass, he explained that he has seen improvement in the relationship between the town and the University. He added that because town policies affect student life, students should participate in local government.
"As an ex-student, I certainly have sympathy for students who live here," he said.
Marjorie Crossman has lived on the same street in Amherst for 81 years. She said that there is no accountability in local government.
"There are so many things in this town that are not right," she said. "It's not right to take money out of the sewer fund and put it into another project [the parking garage]. It could lead to major problems."
Crossman believes more should be done for the elderly.
Aaron Wilson graduated from UMass in 1994 with a degree in History and Legal Studies. He claims a primary base of support from the town's three colleges, particularly UMass students.
"Undergrad students," he said, "are a force to be reckoned with in Amherst politics.
"You're not going to find someone who cares as much about students, in a town hostile to students in general."
He explained that he is concerned about relationships between the town and the University, real estate development and the increase of the town's population.
"The urbanization trend is threatening the quality of life and the character of the town," he said.
Wilson wants to repeal the towns keg-licensing law. Another concern for him is the potential removal of the voting machine in Southwest.
Wilson wants to strike down the regulation that prevents more than four unrelated people from living together. He also objects to landlords using records from the University's student judicial system in deciding whether to rent to them or not.
"The judicial system is arbitrary and unfair and it's disturbing that the ability to rent is based on that. It's an anti-student ordinance," said Wilson.
Wilson was a founder of UMass's Cannabis Reform Coalition. He organized a campaign to pass a pro-marijuana town referendum. He also campaigned for Anne Awad, who won a seat on the Select Board on a pro-student platform.
Rob Kusner has been a professor of Mathematics at UMass since 1988. He has been on Amherst's transportation committee since 1990, was its chair from 1998-2000, and is now a non-voting member. Kusner is a member of Town Meeting, and of the town's conservation commission, which enforces state and federal wetland protection laws.
One of his concerns is the phenomenon of sprawl and the consequent loss of farmland.
"We have some of the best farmland here in Amherst," he said, "and it's disappearing under parking lots."
Kusner would also like to see more affordable housing for UMass faculty, students and staff, and good choices regarding school budgets at all levels. He also questions the enforcement of marijuana laws, and how police resources could be put to better use.
Kusner is considering withdrawing from the race and endorsing another candidate if the issues he cares about are addressed.
"It might be better to come back in a couple of years," he said. "I just want to see the town governed in a way that is good."
Jacqueline Brown-Hazard has been a member of Town Meeting and has served on school committees, but said she's new to town politics. She said she was approached to run by several people.
"They feel the town needs a progressive choice," she said. "I was raised to believe that when you're called, you do your civic duty."
She claimed that the issue of the parking garage didn't affect her decision to run. Her concerns include transportation, specifically the PVTA- "somehow expanding it to there's more service to the north and south ends of town, and more accessibility for seniors."
Brown-Hazard also hopes to address racism in the community and is concerned about how the town's open spaces are used. She believes marijuana should be decriminalized and is concerned about how marijuana laws are enforced.
Brown-Hazard is a UMass alumni and currently works for the university's Economics department.
"I look at the process as sort of an adventure," she said, "I'll try to do the best I can and bring my voice to the discussion."
Eddy Goldberg has been a member of the Amherst planning board for almost five years. With Select Board chair Bryan Harvey opting not to run for reelection, he was asked if he was going to run.
"I thought that I could serve the town better as a Select Board member than with the planning board," said Goldberg.
He said the key word is "balance." As a member of the planning board, Goldberg said he often hears from both developers who want to build and neighbors who want nothing built. He believes his five years of experience have improved his ability to balance the law with the needs of two sides of an issue, all with a view of long term good for the most people.
"I think I represent a voice of reason in tough times," he said.
Goldberg said he is "all for student participation in local government. Although it's hard to feel like you're a part of it if you're new and will soon be leaving."
He said he's not sure how students should participate.
"If they're interested," he said, "they can attend Town Meetings and learning for a while and if they feel they know enough, participate."
Pruddy Gomez owns Pruddy's in downtown Amherst.
"I'm running because I believe that the Select Board, besides being racist and unfair, doesn't represent the majority of thinking in town," he said. Gomez also ran for Select Board in 1999, but lost.
Gomez said that town government "has the same ideas as 20 years ago - the same format, the same people. That has to change."
The 11 percent voting rate, he said, means that only a few people are interested in keeping the town as it was two decades ago.
"The town government talks about multiculturalism and being open," said Gomez, "but there are no minorities in positions that make a difference. It makes me wonder."
Gomez added that he is pro-student. "I love students," he said. Three of his children are attending UMass while one has already graduated. Students, as well as minorities, the poor and working class, are "ghosts" to Amherst government, he explained, because their voices are not heard.
Gomez believes, however, that things are changing.
"There are two good people on the Select Board," Gomez said, "Awad and Seppala - but they're the minority and it's hard to fight the majority of the Town Manager, Select Board chair and the town lawyer, who are untouchable because they are not held accountable.
"In this town there are too many things to fix and I could not turn my back on it."
He said that he wants to "protect people without a voice from the bullshit that goes on behind doors."
Dolly Jolly is the incumbent running for reelection.
Nathan Salwen is a member of the Comprehensive Planning Committee and the Public Transportation and Bicycle Committee.
Bryan Harvey, associate provost for planning and assessment at UMass, has served as chair of the Select Board for the last seven years but will not be running this year.
Select Board positions are unpaid. Terms are three years long. To run for the Amherst Select Board, a candidate must be a registered Amherst voter, and must submit nomination petitions with 50 signatures from registered Amherst voters. This year's filing deadline was Feb. 13. The deadline for withdrawal is March 1.
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