By GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT — Two seats are up for grabs on the Board of Selectmen for the April 25 local election.
Naomi Dreeben and Laura Spathanas, chair and vice-chair respectively, have announced they will run for a second, three-year term.
William DiMento, a Swampscott attorney, also pulled papers to run, but said he’s not going to return them, after learning the two incumbents are running again. Speaking from Florida on Wednesday, the former school committee member said he retired about a year ago, and isn’t taking on any more legal cases. He wants to travel. He said he likes the current board members and thinks the town is going in the right direction.
Candidates have until March 3 to obtain nomination papers and until March 7 to return them. Fifty certified signatures are required for a candidate to appear on the ballot.
“After some very serious consideration, I have decided to run for reelection to the board of selectmen,” Dreeben said at a recent board meeting. “It is a very big commitment … What I realized is that after three years of really getting up to speed and becoming familiar with the issues and the policies and the programs we have here in town, I now have this body of knowledge, and I want to be able to use it more effectively. And I want to see a few more things that we’ve initiated come to fruition.”
Dreeben said she is excited at the chance of working with new Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald and wants to be able to continue to work with the schools as well.
“I feel very invested in the work that we do as a board and I’m very interested in continuing for one more term,” Dreeben said.
Spathanas said there are lots of exciting things happening in the town that she continues to want to be a part of. There are lots of unresolved issues that the board hasn’t finished yet and things it hasn’t started yet, she added.
“Three years ago, when I was first elected and after our campaign, I told the town it was an honor to be elected and to be able to serve,” Spathanas said. “It’s really, throughout the three years, it’s been, continued to be an honor to serve our residents, to serve with this board, other members that have come and gone over the last three years.”
Selectman Peter Spellios spoke about the importance of continuity on the board. He added that he’s learned lots from Dreeben in the past year and a half. He said Spathanas is part of the reason the board has positive traction on a lot of things, adding that she’s open-minded and listens.
Initially, DiMento said he considered running out of frustration, with what he considered to be a spendthrift town. He said town government spends far more than it can afford to, which has caused Swampscott to have one of the highest tax rates on the North Shore and puts a strain on the majority of residents who don’t have children in school. He thinks the schools are given too much money.
“I’m a strong believer in public education, but I’m not a strong believer in wasting taxpayers’ money,” DiMento said. “Let’s give them a school system. Let’s not give them a Cadillac.”
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Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley