Natick 2020 Election Profile: Karen Adelman-Foster For Selectman

NATICK, MA — The Natick 2020 election — postponed from the original date because of coronavirus — is coming up on June 30 with key races for the Board of Selectmen, School Committee and five other boards and commissions.

All races this year are uncontested, meaning that everyone on the ballot will be elected. But we reached out to candidates in key races and asked them to tell us why they're running this year.

Karen Adelman-Foster has served on multiple boards and committees in Natick, but it wasn't until 2019 that she was elected to a one-year term on the Board of Selectmen. On June 30, she'll be elected to a three-year term.

Karen Adelman-Foster

Age (as of Election Day): 61
Family: I live in the Oakdale neighborhood (behind the old East School) with my husband, Robert Foster. We live in the house where we raised our three now-grown kids, Seth, Leah, and Noah.
Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? I work at the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC), which is the Regional Planning Agency for Greater Boston. It is considered an independent state agency and was established by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature. I am bound by the ethical rules that apply to government workers. My husband, Robert Foster, is a Justice of the Land Court, which is a state-level court.
Education: MFA, Iowa Writers' Workshop, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA; BA, Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA
Occupation: I've worked for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) as its Senior Communications Strategist for six years. That was preceded by twenty years of consulting work in the communications field.
Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office: Natick Board of Selectmen, 2019-present (Vice Chair since March 2020); Financial Planning Committee, 2019-present, and previously as a School Committee member; Natick Town Meeting, Precinct 6, 2001-present; Natick School Committee, 2006-2012; Charter and By-law Review Committee 2008-2010; Natick Finance Committee 2013-2014; Strategic Planning Review Committee 2010-2015

Why are you seeking elective office?

What motivates me to run for reelection is that I love our great town. Now more than ever, I see the need to protect town services, including excellent schools; to stand up for equity and sustainability; to defend affordability for seniors and people in need; to promote municipal innovation; and to provide effective leadership and oversight. I have used my time as a member of the Board of Selectmen to pursue these goals, and I ask for your vote to allow me to continue that work.

The single most pressing issue facing our town is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

We are living in extraordinary times. We are in the middle of a pandemic, at the beginning of a severe economic crisis, and at a moment of heightened attention to issues of racial justice. Any one of those would at any other time qualify as a superlatively pressing issue, and we now face all three at once.

Regarding the pandemic, we must continue to safeguard the health and safety of our residents and our employees above all. We must continue to fund our fantastic Public Health Department, and support the incredible collaborative approach taken by the town.

I suspect the budget is going to be an emergency for a long time to come -- but in truth, no one really knows. We must do our best to minimize impacts on the town services we all rely on and on our wonderful town employees. At the same time, we'll need to be very aware that many more residents than ever are living under financial stress. It will be a difficult balance, requiring a great deal of effort, openness, and willingness to compromise.

When it comes to social justice, those of us who are white must first simply listen. The issues are urgent, but for our approach to be truly meaningful, it must be thoughtful. I look forward to supporting a governmental structure that will make sure equity is a prominent part of the conversation going forward. But first, there's a lot of learning to do.

The challenges are close to overwhelming. But we are incredibly fortunate to live in a town where so many talented and dedicated people are rolling up their sleeves and helping to find good solutions. I am confident and hopeful that we're going to come through this as a stronger, more open, and more tightly-knit community.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

This campaign is uncontested — there are two seats and two candidates. I strongly endorse the other candidate for re-election, Michael Hickey.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform

Natick is a great community with a lot going for us — despite all our current challenges. Friendly and livable neighborhoods, a thriving town center, quality schools, top-notch public safety, public works, public health, libraries, senior activities, recreation, and other services, incredibly dedicated and innovative town employees, and a strong commercial base. We need to preserve and work to keep these advantages, no matter what the world hands us.

There were challenges even before COVID-19. We were seeing rapid growth, and that was stressing school and town budgets. Even before the financial crisis, too many seniors and others struggled to afford to stay in Natick. Our roads needed work and our traffic could drive you crazy.

I’m ready to continue to meet these challenges with experience, judgement, listening, and leadership.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

My record is of working collaboratively, and finding solutions that serve the entire community. I listen to all views, look at the facts, set clear priorities, and then make good decisions. That has been my approach in my first term on the Board of Selectmen (my term was a single year) on the Board of Selectmen, through nearly twenty years on Town Meeting, two terms on the School Committee, and on many other volunteer boards.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

If the solution sounds simple, you don't know enough yet.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

There are seldom easy or one-time fixes, and hard choices always have to be made. Natick, like every town, has many competing needs. I have the skills, priorities and values to help us navigate the challenges we face today, and the ones we’ll inevitably face tomorrow. I humbly ask for your vote to continue my work on the Natick Board of Selectmen.

See previous Natick election profiles:

• Michael Hickey for Board of Selectmen
• Shai Fuxman for School Committee