Norwood's Amanda Grow Announces Run For Board Of Selectmen

NORWOOD, MA - Norwood Rules Committee member Amanda Grow confirmed Thursday that she has accepted residents’ nomination for her to run for Selectman in the upcoming special election on Jan. 3.

Grow said she hopes to fill a three-month vacancy on the Board of Selectmen in the wake of the untimely death of Selectman David Hajjar last month.

“I am deeply sorrowed by the passing of Selectman Hajjar," she said. "He was an active and thoughtful presence in the community.”

Grow did not initially pull nomination papers, but said she was ultimately compelled to run by the urging of residents.

“The number of families who reached out to me about running was something I couldn’t ignore,” Grow said. “The things I hear most frequently from them are that they want new ideas put forward, and to see the board’s technology skills expanded.”

Grow also expressed enthusiasm to serve as Light Commissioner for the town’s municipal power company if elected. Norwood is one of only five towns in Massachusetts where the Board of Selectmen also doubles as the town’s Light Commission Board.

Grow has lived in Norwood with her husband since 2007. She has a 15-year career in online software development and 25 years of web development experience.

Additionally, Grow serves in civic roles in the community. She was elected by write-in vote to serve in Town Meeting, as well as being appointed to the Town Rules Committee. She was recently elected as vice president of the Norwood League of Women Voters, where she had previously been elected as its secretary. Grow was also nominated by state Sen. Michael Rush to represent Norwood in the Citizen Legislative Seminar at the Massachusetts Statehouse in 2018.

“Being repeatedly called to serve and lead by my communities is an honor,” she said.

In 2020, Grow she completed a three-year energy study with the Norwood League of Women Voters, where she played a key role in translating highly technical details about the energy grid into guides for their membership. She plans to apply her knowledge about energy infrastructure, renewable power generation, and online services to the role of selectman.

Grow also expressed concerns about the town’s digital security.

“People think of cyber crime as something that only happens to individual consumers online," she said, "but increasingly towns and people who don’t even have internet access are victims. Our board needs a working understanding of these fast evolving threats to protect our residents and assets.”

Residents must be registered to vote by December 14th. Polling locations will be open to vote in person, but there will be no early voting. Absentee voting will be available with a request to the Norwood Town Clerk’s office, but “vote by mail” will be unavailable. Voters who plan to request absentee ballots are encouraged to do so right away.