BLANDFORD – Three residents are running for one seat on the Blandford Board of Selectmen, including incumbent Andy Montanaro, Bryan Young and write-in candidate Cara Letendre.
Incumbent Andy Montanaro
Andy Montanaro, who is presently serving as a selectman, is running for re-election for the three year term. In addition to serving on the Select Board, he has been a member of the Gateway Towns Advisory Committee and the Hilltown Collaborative. Montanaro works for Westfield State University on the Facilities & Operations staff. He declined to give a candidate’s statement, and is standing on his record.
Bryan Young
Bryan Young is chair of the Conservation Commission, on which he’s served for the past ten years. Young bought land in Blandford in 2007, and moved to the town in 2010, saying he’s been “stomping around these hills for 50 years.” Young is a disabled veteran of the U.S. Air Force, who worked for the U.S. government for over 34 years, including the military and the U.S. Postal Service.
“Now that I’m semi-retired, I want to serve my town. God, country, family,” Young said. He said politically, he is an independent. “I vote for the best man or woman.”
“We’ve had a lot of problems in this town since I’ve been here. Things are finally coming back to where they should be,” Young said. He said he didn’t like the infighting in town hall, and wants to see the town get “on the right track.”
On the Conservation Commission, Young has worked with every department, including the Highway Department and the Police Department. He said when the Fire Department resigned en masse in 2013, he worked as a fireman briefly.
His goals as selectmen would be to rebuild the infrastructure, and to support the Fire Department, Police Department, and the Porter Memorial Library.
“People don’t want to move to a town that doesn’t have a good infrastructure. I want to make this a place people want to be. It’s beautiful here,” Young said.
Cara Letendre
Cara Letendre is running an active campaign as a write-in candidate. Letendre said she has been extremely involved in the workings of the town for the past seven years, was born and raised here and is “currently raising her daughters in this beautiful town with her husband Jon.”
“We purchased a home to raise our family because of the positive experiences I had growing up here. After our first daughter was born, I joined the Recreation Committee with the hopes of reviving some of the cherished events of my childhood. We successfully brought back the Halloween party, Memorial Day picnic and the skating rink,” Letendre wrote in a letter to town residents last month.
She served as the editor of the Blandford Bugle for five years, and as a member of the Friends of the Porter Memorial Library.
In 2012, Letendre began working at the town hall as the secretary of the Board of Selectmen. In 2014, she also started working as the Water Department secretary and clerk.
“I experienced firsthand how poor communication continues to disrupt the day to day functions at Town Hall. I helped mediate the conflict between the Selectboard and the Fire Department, coordinated the revision of the highway garage, diligently found answers for residents’ requests, drafted policies, and so forth. I conducted business clearly, in a rational, organized and neighborly fashion,” Letendre said.
If elected, Letendre said she plans to continue the work that has been done cleaning up the books, and moving beyond past discretions with a clearer, more concise budget. She pledges to bridge communication among key financial departments. Letendre’s other goals include investigating shared services with the Hilltown Collaborative, and bringing broadband to the town. She would also prioritize the new fire department building and equipment “we desperately need.”
The election will be held on Saturday, May 13 at the Blandford Town Hall from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
