Incumbent faces challenge to retain Selectboard seat in Buckland

Buckland Town Hall. Staff File Photo/Paul Franz
Published: 05-31-2024 4:53 PM |
BUCKLAND — When voters head to the polls Tuesday, they’ll be faced with one contested race as incumbent Selectboard Chair Clinton “Clint” Phillips faces a challenge from Maria-Elena Mariel Olcoz, who currently serves on the Planning Board, for a three-year Selectboard term.
Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Town Hall, 17 State St.
Phillips, 43, is running for a second term on the Selectboard with the goal of continuing the work the board has done in the last several years.
“I want to keep moving forward, improving roads, improving the staffing and doing everything I can for the town,” Phillips, a lieutenant with the Hatfield Police Department, said. “I’ve enjoyed the last three years. They’ve had their challenges, but I feel as though I want to continue to see the best for the town.”
A resident of 40 years, Phillips had also previously served as a volunteer firefighter with the Shelburne Falls Fire District, worked as a police officer with the Shelburne Police Department and has been active with the Buckland-Shelburne Youth Baseball League.
Since he joined the board, Buckland has seen its Highway Department revamped and its Police Department merged with Shelburne. The town has also managed numerous infrastructure improvement projects.
Phillips said all these successes come from the Selectboard’s work with other town committees and departments, which has helped manage a tight budget year after year.
“We have an awesome Finance Committee — they are very good at penny pinching for the town — and our town administrator is a rockstar at finding us grants,” Phillips said. “The current board that we have now, it seems we’re all really on the same page and I think over this past year when Joan Livingston started, there’s only been one item that all three of us didn’t agree on and that was just this past week with the selling of the Police Station.
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“I don’t see my agenda changing,” Phillips added. “I want to continue to do what I feel as though is best for the town of Buckland.”
Olcoz, 39, is a current Planning Board member and decided to run for Selectboard on the platform of listening to residents’ feedback and concerns.
“I believe that public servants should be listeners first and we are just appendages of the people of the town,” she said. “I’m doing this because I love this community, I love all my neighbors and want their voices heard properly.”
With a background in political science and the humanities, she moved to town just over two years ago and immediately got involved by volunteering to work with the Bridge of Flowers, pollinator committees and the Planning Board.
With housing as one of her top priorities, she pointed to the recently passed short-term rental bylaw, which requires short-term rentals like Airbnbs to be registered with the town, as an example of the work she’s done.
“I bring with me a lot of experience,” Olcoz said, adding that through her deep community involvement, she understands the challenges Buckland faces, such as lack of affordable housing and climate change.
Olcoz said the best way to get a grip on these issues is to be “five steps ahead,” which will save the community money in the long run.
“I feel I can do this and I can represent the voices of the people of Buckland, which is ultimately what the Selectboard should be doing,” Olcoz said. “There’s so much work to do and I have the energy to do it and I have the experience.”
The other uncontested races on the ballot are as follows:
■Board of Assessors, three-year term — Elizabeth Anne Cerone, incumbent.
■Board of Health, three-year term — Yvette Roma Estevez.
■Library trustee, three-year term — Catherine Bernardette Russillo, incumbent.
■Finance Committee, three-year term — Bruce D. Lessels, incumbent.
■Moderator, three-year term — Phoebe Walker, incumbent.
Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.