COLRAIN — As folks packed into the Griswold Memorial Library last week, they were given the chance to meet the candidates for the contested Selectboard and town clerk races.
Colrain’s election will be held in the Town Office basement, 55 Main Road, on Tuesday from noon to 7 p.m.
For the Selectboard, current Chair Joseph Kurland is running for another term, while Benjamin Eastman Jr. is running for his first term.
Three people are in the running to replace current Town Clerk Eileen Sauvageau, who is retiring from the position to spend time with her family and new grandchild. The candidates include Dorian “Dolli” Pariseau, Jennifer Smith and Anna Lavarreda.
Kurland, 76, is running for his second consecutive term on the board in hopes of continuing the town’s work, while ensuring decisions will not negatively affect residents.
“The job on the Selectboard is to try to balance things as much as possible,” he said, “in terms of doing things that will help the community and also not overtax the community. Working on that balance all the time is a tough one.”
When asked about bridging the national political divide that sometimes seeps into local discussions, Kurland said his goal is to always listen to people.
“I have tried my best, as I said before, to listen to people,” Kurland said. “I’m not sure we can satisfy everybody and we’re doing the best we can. … That’s the best I can do, to try and be fair and to listen to people’s concerns.”
Asked about transparency and communication, Kurland said he emphasizes the need to get meeting minutes posted “as quickly as possible” and added that he’d like to see more use of the town website when it comes to posting every meeting agenda.
Eastman, 43, is running for his first term on the Selectboard after deciding it is “about time my generation took a step and got into government.”
If elected, Eastman said he would like to “get the ball rolling” on projects in town while working with residents to ensure town operations run efficiently.
“I’d like to try and tackle and smooth some things out,” Eastman said, adding his goal would be to get the government “better running for the community.”
When asked the same question about government transparency and communication, Eastman said he’d ask residents for their input on where they find information about meetings and events in Colrain.
“I’d try and promote publishing on most town common areas … and try to get more out on the computer,” he said. “Try and listen to people and hear where they could pick up stuff, not just post it, but, ‘Do you stop here more often, do you stop there more often, if we had a sign here would you see that more?’ Try and ask the people who say they’re not getting informed.”
Pariseau, 73, said she is running for the town clerk position to support the community that welcomed her and her husband when they moved to town in 2006.
“I thought this would be a good time when I saw that there was an opening,” Pariseau said. “I thought it would be a good time to give back to the community that has been so welcoming to us.”
Each clerk candidate was asked how they would manage the responsibilities of the job — Sauvageau mentioned running elections, posting meetings and providing information to the public as just a few of the many responsibilities. Pariseau said she would “handle them as they come in and use all the resources” available to ensure the job gets “done on time and accurately.”
Smith, 39, said she is running for the town clerk position to help the town continue to grow and prosper.
“My roots are all here in Colrain,” Smith said. “I want to ensure the future of this town is a wonderful one for my family, that is growing, and as well as for everyone else’s future generations.”
Asked about the slew of responsibilities that come with being town clerk, Smith said she is confident she can manage the workload by taking care of things as they arise and by ensuring no details are overlooked.
“I am going to work my hardest to keep on top of everything,” Smith said. “I’m a very detail-oriented person, I’m very organized and so, as things come, they will be taken care of.”
Lavarreda, 37, said she is running for the town clerk position with hopes to “increase accessibility” of town government to all residents.
“I have worked within Franklin County in a few different roles that provide direct service, so I do a lot of customer-facing services,” Lavarreda said. “My brain really loves systems work … so I’m very comfortable with that computer work.”
She said she is well-equipped to handle the town clerk responsibilities through her prior job experiences and her time volunteering at the town’s polling places.
“This is the stuff I really love about the job. I like the nitty-gritty, I like that there’s a lot of moving pieces,” Lavarreda said. “I’m excited to be able to look at what’s happening with a fresh pair of eyes and to see if there’s ways that things could be more streamlined or working differently in a way that’s more efficient.”
Voters will be asked to consider a Proposition 2½ debt exclusion vote for a $278,400 bond issued by the Mohawk Trail Regional School District for repair work at Colrain Central School that includes rebuilding the parking lots and walkways, brick masonry repairs and other capital projects.
Other positions on the ballot are as follows:
■Griswold Memorial Library trustee, two positions with three-year terms — Betsy Browning, incumbent, and Martin Lydgate-Driggs.
■Constable, one position with a three-year term — no nominations.
■Assessor, one position with a three-year term — incumbent Nick Anzuoni is running a write-in campaign.
■Mohawk Trail Regional School District School Committee, one position with a three-year term — John Chivers, who was appointed to the board in December.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.