Candidate Profile: After 17 Years, John Beauchamp Eyes A Return To Woburn City Council

WOBURN, MA -- There are three contested Woburn Alderman's Races in the general election on November 7. In Ward 3, Incumbent Mark Gaffney is facing Claire Malaguti of Colonial Road. In Ward 6, John Beauchamp is challenging incumbent Edward Tedesco. And in Ward 7, Charles Viola is challenging incumbent Lindsay Higgins.

Woburn Patch asked candidates to respond to a detailed questionnaire so that we could profile each candidate in a contested race. So far, the only respondents have been Charles Viola and John Beauchamp. What follows is a profile of Beauchamp, a 56-year-old public school history teacher. Other candidates who would like to be profiled should contact Dave Copeland at dave.copeland@patch.com.

This is not, as the saying goes, John Beauchamp's first rodeo when it comes to elected office in Woburn. Beauchamp was an alderman-at-large from 1996 to 2000, and now he wants to challenge incumbent Edward Tedesco to represent voters in Ward 6, which covers the northernmost section of Woburn. Beauchamp was quick to note that he has the "utmost respect" for Tedesco, but made it clear that he believes he could do a better job.

"His outreach and communication efforts to our North Woburn residents has been spotty at best," Beauchamp said in response to a list of questions Woburn Patch provided to all candidates in contested races. "In politics you may not be able to solve every issue but you must practice due diligence and assertiveness."

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The biggest issue, as Beauchamp sees it, and one he definitely wants to solve if elected, is traffic. He wants to impose limits or controls that would limit truck traffic in Woburn, and he wants to put pressure on the state to finish work on the New Boston Street bridge, which would ease access onto Interstate 93.

Some key victories marked the two terms Beauchamp served on city council in the late 1990s. He developed a program that allowed senior citizens to get tax credits by working part-time for a department head in the city. And he wrote a development mitigation law that's added over $4 million in private contributions to city coffers with the intention of addressing impacts related to a specific project.

"Unfortunately many of these funds have over the years been diverted to other areas outside of the development impact area," he said. "By shifting funds away from the project impact area, residents in these areas face quality of life issues and property value reductions compared to other parts of the Woburn."

That largely echoed the theme of most of the campaign platform points he shared with Woburn Patch. Beauchamp is presenting himself as pro-citizen, even if it means being anti-business. He sees improving schools and keeping tax rates affordable crucial, and does not come off as being afraid to vote against business interests.

"I will scrutinize all future commercial special permit applications and vote against them when not in the best interests of the residents of North Woburn," he said.

Beauchamp grew up with four sisters and said his parents instilled in him the value of being honest and respectful of other people. He graduated from Woburn High School in 1979 and received dual bachelor degrees in history and political science from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell in 2005.

Other contested races in the November election include Charles Viola challenging incumbent Lindsay Higgins in Ward Seven and incumbent Mark Gaffney facing Claire Malaguti of Colonial Road in Ward Three. Two aldermen at large and five incumbent school committee members are all unopposed in their reelection bids. Mayor Scott Galvin and City Council members Joanne Campbell (Ward 1), Richard Gately (Ward 2), Michael Anderson (Ward 4) and Darlene Mercer-Bruen (Ward 5) are all running unopposed in November's election.

Photo by John Beauchamp.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).