CELESTE ST. JACQUES
SOUTHWICK – Celeste St. Jacques is seeking the Southwick Town Moderator seat in the June 9 election.
Longtime Moderator James Putnam announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election to the position. With his announcement, St. Jacques began taking a close look at how town government works and the role the moderator plays.
“Over the past few months, I have observed how the Select Board and the Finance Committee make informed decisions,” she said. “In addition to conducting the Town Meetings, the Town Moderator plays an important role in the selection of members of the Finance Committee, who aid in developing the town budget. In this time of so much change and economic uncertainty, I believe that Southwick needs to continue to be fiscally conservative while maintaining the great small town feeling.”
St. Jacques and her husband Jayson have lived in Southwick for 17 years. She said they chose to set their roots in Southwick because it was a place where they could grow with the community.
“We wanted to be part of a small community that provides a great place to raise children,” said St. Jacques. “As our three girls, Nicole, Annette, and Michelle grew up and started school, I became involved in many town activities, including serving as a Girl Scout Leader, coaching and organizing athletic activities, and I currently serving as a member of Southwick Dollars for Scholars.”
St. Jacques has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of New Haven and said she has always had an interest in serving her community.
“Now that our daughters are all in high school, and my schedule is flexible (my job as a wellness coach for WW, Weight Watchers, Reimagined includes making presentations and facilitating meetings), I finally have time to fully dedicate to public service and I look forward to working as your Town Moderator,” stated St. Jacques in a press release.
St. Jacques believes she knows the purpose of the moderator and the role she would serve if elected.
“I understand that our moderator’s most important responsibility is to ensure that everyone in Southwick has a platform to be heard, a right we all deserve as citizens of this country and members of this community,” she said. “The benefit of being a newcomer to the political environment is that I will bring an unbiased view of past politics and relationships to this position.”
St. Jacques said she looks forward “to meeting the challenges of the job, to ensuring that our town meetings run fairly, to meeting more members of this vibrant community, and to making sure you all have a voice in our town government.”
The town election is June 9, with voting for the first time in the Southwick Senior Center at Town Hall.
