Select Board Candidates Get Down To Business

WINCHESTER - There were puzzles for lighthouses, furry friends, and even doors. But the one puzzle the three candidates for the Winchester Select Board are looking to solve wasn't in any box in the Activity Room at The Gables.

Susan Verdicchio, Vincent Dixon, and Amy Shapiro are competing for two seats on the Select Board and each hopes attendance at Wednesday's Meet the Candidates Breakfast will provide another piece to a winning campaign puzzle. Winchester voters will elect two of the three candidates on March 26.

Sponsored by the Winchester Chamber of Commerce, the candidates responded to five questions supplied to each in advance by the Chamber. The topics were all familiar ... tax classification, the override, hiring an economic development coordinator, pedestrian safety, and plans for the town center.

Winchester voters have a tough decision with the candidates mirroring each other on many issues. They all support the override with Verdicchio saying, "we need this." They all believe the town needs an economic development director with Shapiro calling it "a definite need." And they all support increased pedestrian safety with Dixon calling for better enforcement of current laws and a public education effort.

All three are deeply entrenched in the town's future. Shapiro has a marketing and business development back round along with three young children, while Verdicchio is a member of the School Committee and Dixon a member of the Finance Committee.

With Chamber Executive Director Cathy Alexander looking on, it's no surprise the three all sided with businesses when it came to tax classification. "Don't add to business challenges by increasing the commercial tax rate," said Verdicchio.

Shapiro also addressed those challenges, saying parking was a huge issue and adding that she "wants Winchester to be a destination" where people come to shop and eat.

Of the three, Dixon's ideas went beyond Winchester and his seven-minutes included mention of a regional transportation plan that connects surrounding towns as well as references to Cape Cod solutions to development issues.

The Select Board is missing two pieces with the departure of Lance Grenzeback and David Errico. It's up to Winchester voters to decide how to complete the puzzle.