LETTER TO THE EDITOR: It Only Happened Once

Selectman candidate Dan DePompei alerts residents of Sudbury's way of spending.

Simon: Sudbury Needs to Think Forward When Making Decisions

Resident Leonard Simon is one of six candidates for the two new seats on the Board of Selectmen.

If you are ever invited into Leonard Simon's basement, you will see a toy train set that took hundreds of hours for him and his son to build. There are platforms, an oil rig, lights and more. The planning, research and dedication they put into it is obvious. As an attorney, Simon used those same qualities to best serve his clients. And now, the Sudbury resident wants to use those attributions to serve the town's residents as a member of the Board of Selectmen. Simon, who is now mostly retired from law, is one of six residents vying for one of the two newly created seats that will be voted on during Special Town Election on June 25. But despite being new to town politics, he has already shown a desire to improve Sudbury. More than two years…

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Who Has Pulled Papers for the Selectmen's Race?

In the latest You Ask, Patch Answers installment, we headed over to Town Hall to get the latest scoop.

Special Town Election is less than two months away and buzz is already circulating over who will run for one of the two news seats on Sudbury's Board of Selectmen. Former Planning Board member Eric Poch was the first to pull papers. As of May 1 five other residents have joined him: All six have pulled papers for both the two- and three-year term seats. Those candidates must choose between those seats by May 21 at 5 p.m. or be taken off the ballot altogether. DePompei is no stranger to running for selectman as he missed dethroning current Chairman Larry O'Brien by about 100 votes in 2012. Simon is a "mostly retired" lawyer. Gentile is also a lawyer, based out of Framingham. Woodward is a current member of FINCOM. His term ends this year. …

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Reflections from the Selectmen's Meeting

Resident Rita Bourne says certain members of the Board lacked integrity during its last meeting.

Attending the most recent meeting filled me with hope and renewed energy, but also with little more than a tinge of caution. The changes are noticeable: interested residents were able to present their positions with fewer interruptions, and Bob Haarde acknowledged problematic lack of consistency in adhering to the bylaws by Town officials. But let’s not get complacent. We have a long way to go. As I see it, addition of two selectmen will only signify that our fight for a better Sudbury has an increased chance of succeeding; Drobinski, O’Brien and Valente will not leave until their tenures expire. In my premature excitement, I was foolishly expecting O’Brien to recuse himself from discussing penalties for liquor license violations. When …

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pmotw

3:04 pm on Monday, April 29, 2013

Who gets to be Project Manager?   more ›

Selectmen Slap Acapulcos with 1-Day Liquor License Suspension

One other restaurant in town that failed an undercover sting was given a warning.

A second violation in the last three years for serving liquor to minors was enough of a reason for Sudbury's Board of Selectmen to hand Acapulcos a one-day liquor license suspension during Tuesday night's meeting. The most recent violation occurred on Feb. 21, when Sudbury police performed multiple compliance checks. Acapulcos also had a violation in 2010, Nix said. According to Lt. Scott Nix, three minors ages 18 to 19 years old walked into these restaurants in an attempt to buy liquor. "Unfortunately these three individuals were able to purchase liquor (from these establishments)," Nix said. "Once we completed the compliance check, we went back to see the manager and server responsible for the transaction." Chairman Larry O'Brien asked …

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Eric Poch Throws Hat in Board of Selectmen Race

The former Planning Board member was the first to pull papers for one of the two new seats residents will vote on at Special Town Election on June 25.

When it comes to being involved in town government, it would be hard to find many Sudbury residents as involved as Eric Poch. The 18-year resident and father of three is, or has been on, the: On Friday, April 12, he decided to try and add another title to his impressive resume when he pulled papers for one of the two new seats for the Board of Selectmen. "It's time for some leadership and some upward management," he said when asked why he would run for selectman. "The Board of Selectmen is a tough spot that requires leadership and self motivation. It's a thankless job with no pay and not much authority in terms of absolute decision making. But it still needs to be the voice of reason for the town." The Board's voice became mostly silent …

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The Taxpayer’s Best Interest?

Sudbury resident Dan DePompei questions why the town is paying top-dollar contracts.

At a recent Board of Selectmen (BOS) meeting, a resident questioned why the BOS was not actively searching for competition in the contract for Town Legal services. Town Legal Services is a fairly lucrative part time contract (apparently>$80,000/yr in current $). The questioning resident had recently read Sudbury’s Town Bylaw VII, Legal Services, which seemed to require competition every 3 years. Sudbury had not competitively procured legal services for approximately 18 years. The BOS was not pleased with this resident questioning their knowledge of Town Bylaws; after all, they are men of tenure and experience.  In response to this perceived violation of Town Bylaws, the BOS asked Town Counsel to research and advise the legality of his own …

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Andrew MacEntee

12:56 pm on Thursday, April 18, 2013

Too often the Town Counsel's opinions serve to protect Town leaders & have no basis in fact or law. For example, below TC ruled OBrien’s notes were personal & not subject to a FOI request. However, the SJC has concluded that if the purpose of a document is prepared in connection with official business to perpetuate, communicate, or formalize knowledge, then it is a public record. This specificaly…   more ›

Sudbury Selectmen Give OK for Afghanistan/Iraq Memorial

Location could be at either Heritage Park or Grinnell Park in Sudbury Center.

Sudbury resident Rick Houpt presented a plan to the Board of Selectmen Tuesday night to create an Afghanistan/Iraq memorial. "We thought this was a good idea to start to honor those veterans and families," said Houpt, whose wife, Patty, is the head of the Sudbury Military Support Network. "We're a good organization to lead the effort." Houpt said a large group of residents have already gathered to start creating a memorial plan. Rachel Goodrich of the SMSN has done research of existing town memorials, which includes a catalog of the background and history of those memorials. "As we got started, we went to the Parks and Recreation Department and Historical Commission because we thought the perfect place would be Heritage Park next to 9-11 …

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Town of Sudbury Announces 2 Open Selectmen Seats for Special Town Election

Residents will hit the polls on June 25 to fill the newly created positions on the Board.

The Town of Sudbury has officially begun preparing for Special Town Election, to be held on June 25, which will ask voters to fill two new seats on the Board of Selectmen. The current three-person Board unanimously supported holding a special election at its Tuesday meeting. For months Chairman Larry O'Brien and Selectman John Drobinski had balked at the idea. But after two overwhelming votes in support of the change at Special Town Meeting in September and Annual Town Election in March, the two long-standing Board members finally agreed to support the addition. Nomination papers are available at the Town Clerk’s office. Interested candidates must file their intentions and take out nomination papers on or before Friday, May 3, and return …

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Troiano Closing Lavendergate Facebook Page

Sudbury resident who spearheaded the 3 to 5 selectmen increase creating a new group to provide open commentary.

The Lavendergate Facebook page was created last year by Sudbury resident Michael Troiano after a scandal involving the Board of Selectmen and other town representatives He wanted a forum where residents could speak freely without ridicule or censorship. Those opportunities were not always available at numerous board and committee meetings in town, making other residents fume. After two elections approving the increase of the selectmen by two seats, and the Board approving a special election on June 25 to fill those seats, Troiano has decided to shut down the popular Facebook page, which had more than 900 members. The closing will happen a week from today, April 17. The following is a letter written by Troiano explaining his thoughts: …

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