COURTESY PHOTOS
Martha Dansdill, left, is running against registered nurse Emily Cilley.
By GAYLA CAWLEY
SWAMPSCOTT — The chairwoman of the Board of Health will face a challenge to retain her seat in the April 25 local election.
Martha Dansdill is running for a fourth, three-year term against Emily Cilley, a registered nurse and political newcomer.
The deadline to return nomination papers was March 7, and both candidates will appear on the ballot, according to Town Clerk Susan Duplin.
Dansdill served as executive director of HealthLink, a North Shore environmental nonprofit organization, for 12 years and is now on its Board of Directors. She said the group was focused on a Salem coal burning power plant when it was in operation, striving for clean air policies. She’s also worked as a coach for Weight Watchers.
Cilley, 47, is a registered nurse who has served in numerous other public health positions across the North Shore. She works for Northeast Clinical Services and with people in their homes. She also works as a substitute nurse in the town. She has lived in Swampscott for 20 years.
She holds a degree in Health and Family Life from the University of Maine. She and her husband, Charlie, have four daughters in the Swampscott school system.
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Dansdill said serving on the health board, a regulatory three-member board which is a local arm of the Department of Public Health and Department of Environmental Protection, for three terms has given her a wealth of knowledge. She said she’s a proponent of reaching out to educate the community on new public health issues as they arise.
She said the board implemented a waste reduction program that also increased recycling. Dansdill said that saved the town $90,000 annually over the pre-waste reduction program.
The board also works to keep the town’s beaches and oceans clean, Dansdill said, citing work done to make the waters from Swampscott to Revere a “no discharge zone,” after petitioning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency eight years ago.
She said a member of the health board also serves on the town’s Overdose Response Team, adding that opioid abuse and addiction is a key problem many communities are dealing with now.
Dansdill has an undergraduate degree from Springfield College. She has been married to her husband, Terry, for 32 years and has two children, Emily and Peter, who attended Swampscott Public Schools.
“Over the years, I have developed a wealth of knowledge in regards to local and state policy that protect the public health and the environment,” Dansdill said. “I’m just really proud to serve the people of Swampscott in this capacity.”
Cilley in a phone interview said she would focus on the youth and elderly in town, and also on the opioid crisis. While she understands the trash and recycling issues are important, and she is certainly for open space, she said that wouldn’t be where her focus is.
The nurse said she’s not trying to replace anybody, but feels that new eyes and ears are always a good thing, along with forward thinking. She said she has a passion for health issues and thought it was the right time to run.
“As a health professional, my patients’ well-being — physical, mental, emotional, social — are the reasons I come to work every day,” Cilley said in a separate statement. “This 360-degree view of health is important, and the reason I decided to run.
“Swampscott faces a number of health issues: rising opioid casualties, storm-water and sewage contamination, trash and recycling pickup costs, and the need for open space to accommodate active town residents, whatever their age of interests,” Cilley said. “I believe the board of health can do better on each and every one of these issues.
“I will work to show a greater presence in the town — specifically with youth and the elderly — from acknowledging and illustrating safe behaviors to working with committees, boards and groups for greater inclusion of all our town’s resources as they relate to our residents.”
Gayla Cawley can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.