Smart stewardship, stronger Amherst

We stand for the future.

 We support open-minded candidates seeking innovative, practical solutions to public challenges in Amherst. These town challenges are interwoven. We need to expand housing, support school excellence, improve roads and infrastructure, and broaden the tax base.  We cannot advance one without nurturing the other. For that reason, we put forward the following list of candidates* we hope you consider when you vote:

Town Council

• District 1: Freke Ette

• District 2: Lynn Griesemer

• District 3: Heather Hala Lord and George Ryan

• At Large: Mandi Jo Hanneke and Andy Churchill

School Committee

• Sarah Marshall

These issues are not easy to address, and no one councilor or school committee member is going to get it all right. We are supporting candidates who we feel will contribute positively towards our vision of success.

Schools. We all want thriving, innovative, and diverse K-12 schools. That requires ensuring policies, management, and budgets are transparent and open to review by the school committee, town council, and Amherst residents. We support candidates who will encourage school leadership and the town to consider a wide range of options to address changing demographics and funding pressures. 

Infrastructure.  We want to fix our crumbling roads and sidewalks. We want to support public buildings like the DPW and fire stations, and beautify our public spaces. These long-delayed priorities can’t wait any longer.    

Smart Development and Housing.  We believe in retaining the beauty and historical foundations of Amherst while laying the groundwork for its future. We want to maintain a healthy, attractive, and affordable supply of residential housing. This requires expanding both housing and opportunities for economic activity to deliver the revenues that will allow us to pay for the public resources Amherst residents seek.

 In short, we stand for strengthening our community through wise stewardship of resources and expanding opportunities for current and future residents.

**Our endorsements are based on a mix of candidates’ written responses to questions posed by Amherst Forward, their public statements and actions, and personal interviews. We invited all 25 candidates for town council and school committee to complete our survey. We were unable to support those who did not respond to our survey, and we respected the wishes of candidates who did not want to be endorsed. We also did not endorse uncontested races, such as District 5.