Phil Shapiro enters race for Selectman

Westwood has been my home for the last 30 years and I am very excited to announce my candidacy for Selectman. I look forward to talking with people in town to understand their ideas and concerns on the issues that face our town.

My experience in town government began in the late 1980’s and includes service on the Finance Commission for a 3 year term and being Vice Chairman. I then was the Chairman of the Business Development Advisory Board for 4 years and have been an elected Assessor for the last 6 years. I will bring my experience in town government to the financial, management and community challenges we are facing. My professional life includes experience as Vice President for Finance/CFO at Babson College, 12 years as head of the New England office of Standard & Poor’s Bond Ratings and 9 years as the CFO of the Mass Water Resources Authority.

Having worked with cities and towns across New England I understand the financial challenges they face. We are fortunate to have the Westwood Station project that has the potential to take us out of the cycle of Proposition 2 ½ overrides and deteriorating services. Westwood Station has the potential to help us address many of our financial issues over an extended period. Its success will be critical for us in building balanced and sustainable finances. We must be sure that it is done in a way that protects its neighbors from unfair burdens. It will be interesting and enjoyable to spend the next few months talking with old friends and meeting new ones. I want to listen to people to understand their concerns and bring my experience to meeting our challenges.

Phil Shapiro is a graduate of Amherst College with a masters in higher education from the University of Maine and an MBA from Boston College. He has been a soccer and softball coach, a board member of the Westwood Land Trust and is on the Board of Directors of BIDHospital-Needham. He lives on Mill St with his wife Jeanne Kantauskis Shapiro and his daughters Tracy, a sophomore at Westwood High School and Alysson a freshman at Drew University in New Jersey.

I am not a regular blogger so I am looking forward to that as another part of the learning experience in running for Selectman.

One of the best aspects of government and politics is meeting interesting and committed people and I know that that will be the case in this race. A side benefit is getting to know Doug and Greg and talking with them about the issues in town. It should be a lot of fun.