Van Liew to Run for Selectman

Roland Van Liew has announced he will seek a seat on the Board of Selectmen.

He pulled papers for the seat from the Town Clerk's office this afternoon, coicidentally at the same time current Board of Selectmen Chairman picked up his papers to run again.

However, in an e-mail, Van Liew said he chose to run "because the development interests who work tirelessly to exploit town resources for personal gain cannot be effectively countered exclusively by political outsiders."

"We are always six months behind their strategies because they don't have to apprise the general public of what they're doing behind closed doors," he wrote.

Van Liew has set up a web site at www.vanliewforselectman.com. Van Liew also said he will run for Town Meeting Rep.

"However, I can't counter the special interests alone.We need well-intentioned candidates for Town Meeting who will take our town back from those special interests," he wrote in the mailing.

In the mailing he also appeals to residents to run for Town Meeting Rep.

"If we elect challengers in just two seats in each district, we can balance Town Meeting so that decisions can be made by people who put the interests of their town and constituents first, and not behind the money interests of the lawyers and developers who would profit at the expense of Oak Hill and the town in general," he wrote.

In August 2011, Van Liew led the effort to He is also an organizer of the group Better not Bigger.