CONWAY — Sheila M. Harrington has a simple question.
“If you visit, how could you not fall in love with this town?” she asks.
Harrington and her husband, both military veterans, were visiting family in the area while her husband was looking for a new job. He got hired at Cooley Dickinson Hospital and the two rented a home in Hatfield before moving to Conway, where they loved to fish, seven years ago.
Harrington now wants to show her love for her adopted home by serving as town clerk, a position held by incumbent Virginia A. Knowlton for 36 years. Polls will be open at Town Hall from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday.
She said she hopes to provide better town clerk hours, including evenings and at least one Saturday a month.
“That’s the number-one complaint I hear from people — they can’t get in and get done the things that they need to get done,” she said.
The town clerk’s office is open 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.
Harrington is a notary public and said she is working toward an associate degree in office management from Greenfield Community College. She works as a head teller at Greenfield Savings Bank’s Conway location. If she wins the election, she would like to work per-diem at the bank if possible.
“It’s made me a very organized person. I’m very customer service-oriented. I’ve won awards at previous jobs for customer service excellence. And I have computer skills that would help,” Harrington said. “And being in the military has made me understand politics.”
Harrington said there will be a significant learning curve if she is elected town clerk, but she is ready for the challenge.
Harrington is chairwoman of the Festival on the Hills Committee and serves on the 250th Anniversary Committee. She and her husband are members of the Conway Sportsmen’s Club and the Conway Snowmobile Club.
“I love this town and I do whatever I can to help the town,” she said. “I believe in the town and I want it to be as wonderful as I feel it is.”
Harrington and Knowlton may be running in the last election for town clerk. A ballot question this election asks residents if they wish to have their elected town clerk become an appointed town clerk of the town.
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 257.
On Twitter: @DomenicPoli