The Town of Natick depends on the active participation of its citizens in governance of the Town. Natick voters on Tuesday, March 28, 2023 will cast their ballots for candidates running for Select Board, a contested race.

The Select Board serves as the chief executive board of the Town and, as such, is vested with all the municipal authority not specifically retained by the Town’s legislative body, Town Meeting.

There are four candidates running for two open 3-year seats on the Select Board:

• Rich Sidney
• Kat Monahan
• Kristen Pope
• Roger Scott

Natick Report invited candidates to inform voters about their priorities for the Town of Natick. Interviews with candidates who responded appear in this post in the order in which their names appear on the ballot.

Rich Sidney, candidate for re-election

Natick Report: Please introduce yourself to Natick Report‘s readers.

Rich Sidney: I’m Rich Sidney and I am running for re-election to the Natick Select Board. I would like to thank Natick Report for the opportunity to introduce myself to the community.

Natick has been my home for over 35 years, first moving to West Natick in 1987. My wife Sandra and I purchased our home in downtown Natick in 1999, when our daughter Sarah was a baby. Sarah attended Natick Public Schools for K-12, receiving an excellent education. Today, I am Chief Technical Officer for a small company, and in the course of my career in software engineering and systems analysis, I have developed strong analytical skills and attention to detail which I have applied in my civic life.

I’ve been a community volunteer in Natick for 20 years, starting with the July 4th parade. I have been an elected Town Meeting member since 2004, served 10 years on the Finance Committee, and have been a member of the Charter & By-law Review Committee and the Town Meeting Electronic Voting Study Committee, among others. Now I am a member of the Select Board, having been elected last September to fill an open seat for six months. These experiences have given me a comprehensive understanding of our community, how our government functions, and how it could work better. I love Natick and want to continue to utilize my knowledge, experience, and energy to serve our community.

Natick Report: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish in your 3-year tenure as a Select Board member?

Rich Sidney: Based on my extensive community experiences, I consider affordability, dffective service delivery, fiscal sustainability, economic development, and transparency the key issues facing Natick.

In summary, here are my thoughts on each of these.

Affordability: It’s hard to find an affordable home here, and some long-time residents cannot afford to stay in our community. I will continue to work to create housing opportunities that keep seniors in town and welcome new residents.This is essential if we are going to have a community that is affordable and economically diverse.

Effective service delivery: I’m committed to seeing that Natick follows best practices when it comes to service delivery, which includes recruiting and retaining excellent staff. We need to make information about services readily accessible to everyone, which requires a robust technology infrastructure. The new communications director is a step in the right direction.

Fiscal sustainability: If re-elected I will continue to monitor Town spending to ensure it is effective and efficient and minimize reliance on one-time revenue sources. At the same time, I will continue to encourage Smart Economic Development to attract and keep desirable businesses in Natick.

Transparency: Transparency is vital to earning the public trust. This includes publicizing town meetings, seeking public input, and providing information so that the public is aware of issues facing town government and how they are being handled. The new communications director will also play a large role in this effort.

Collaborating with a diverse mix of stakeholders is key to achieving these goals. I have a history of working effectively with others to identify our common objectives and achieve them, and will continue if re-elected. I will also continue to seek input from Natick residents and businesses. Together, we will address issues and identify solutions that work best for our town.

Natick Report: How should voters reach you if they want more information?

Rich Sidney: I would love to hear from residents, businesses, and others in Natick. You can reach me at electrichsidney@gmail.com

You can learn more about me by visiting www.richfornatick.org or on Facebook at Rich Sidney for Natick Select Board

In closing, I ask for one of your two votes for Select Board on Tuesday, March 28. Thank you!

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Kat Monahan

Natick Report: Please introduce yourself to Natick Report‘s readers.

Kat Monahan: Hi Natick Report Readers! My name is Kat Monahan and I live in West Natick on Nipmuc Land; my three favorite Natick residents are my husband Glenn, a union carpenter and amazing dad, my daughter, a Brown School kindergartener, and my three-year-old, Frank. I work as a Human Resources and Payroll specialist for Landry’s Bicycles; we are a local, 100% employee-owned, 100-year-old company with eight locations, including my home base in Natick! My love for my neighbors of all ages, races, and backgrounds runs deep; I understand that Natick’s Select Board truly takes a village—members with diverse opinions and experiences to represent our residents and ask the right questions to help Natick thrive.

Most of my professional background is in accounting—payroll, accounts payable & receivable, treasury operations, grant accounting, vendor relations, and foreign national tax treaties. I earned my MBA in finance and nonprofit management at Boston University in 2018 while working full-time. After I finished my degree, I used my accounting skills to help my neighbors by training and serving as an IRS tax preparer for low-income and elderly taxpayers.

My introduction to Natick government was during the 2020 Spring Annual Town Meeting, when I represented Precinct 3 at the first ever virtual Town Meetings. I have since been reelected in 2022, and appointed to the Finance Committee to advise on articles, ask questions of the town administration and department heads, and prepare the recommendation book for Town Meeting members. My experience in our town government has shown me that Natick needs progressive, proactive governance that streamlines processes and aligns our decisions with Natick’s documented climate and sustainability goals, financial responsibilities, and educational objectives.

I bike through Natick as much as I can—to work, taking the kids to school, to the grocery store, to Girl Scout meetings at the library—and I’m at over 200 miles in 2023! When I bike in Natick I experience the weather, the natural scents, the unnatural scents, the little daily changes, and the return of birds; it’s something that has deepened my understanding of our town.

Natick Report: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish in your 3-year tenure as a Select Board member?

Kat Monahan: I believe that the Select Board needs to act to lower the town speed limit to 25 mph, as recommended by the Transportation Advisory Committee. This is an important safety and climate resilience measure that could be implemented quickly. Of course, not every road will drop to 25 mph, but most speed limits in town will be consistent and this is a proven step to lowering overall driving speed, which reduces accidents and casualties.

Natick has a difficult time keeping low-paid positions like school paraprofessionals, life guards, and custodians filled—many with pay below what could be considered a ‘living wage’ for Natick residents. We need to review the pay and benefits plans for these positions to maintain a consistent level of quality services for residents and to attract dependable workers of all skill and FTE levels. I’d also like Natick to explore adopting the Massachusetts General Law that would allow us to ‘opt in’ our municipal employees to the Commonwealth’s Paid Family and Medical Leave program.

Things I’ve done that I will bring to the Select Board:

– Spoke out against a Town Meeting member who advocated for voter suppression during 2022 Spring Annual Town Meeting. Natick needs to be proactive in its efforts to promote democracy and transparency, whether it’s fighting this rhetoric or bringing more community members into committee meetings and vacant Town Meeting seats.

– Led constructive questions and decision making to recommend favorable action on Article 26 at Fall 2022 Town Meeting, to hasten the process of transferring one of the town’s tax title properties to the Natick Affordable Housing Trust. We can’t delay or refer our town’s housing affordability problem back to a sponsor— it’s a problem that Natick played a part in creating and Natick needs to work harder at managing this crisis.

Natick Report: How should voters reach you if they want more information?

Kat Monahan: By email at katmonahan01760@gmail.com, or by visiting my website at kat01760.com. If you see me on one of my bikes with the teal campaign sign on it, flag me down! I also want to thank Natick Report for this opportunity and their valuable local coverage.

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Kristen Pope

Natick Report: Please introduce yourself to Natick Report’s readers.

Kristen Pope: Hi neighbors! My name is Kristen L. Pope and I would be humbled to represent you on Natick’s Select Board.

My husband Richard and I chose to move to Natick almost six years ago. We were drawn to Natick by its great schools, accessible commuter rail, cool downtown, rich diversity and community history. At the time, I was eight months pregnant with our daughter Lily.

In our excitement, we sponsored a brick with Lily’s name during a fundraiser at Lilja. We like to say laid down bricks and  we planted roots. Lily’s now a kindergartener there, which is as hard to believe as it is so much of the culmination and beginning of our vision for living here.

I grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. While I’ve lived in 10 states and 12 cities (3 before I was 6), Massachusetts is where Richard and I have lived the longest as a couple.

Growing up, my parents led by role model and cultivated a practice of service to our community.

One of my most memorable Christmas’ growing up was pulling the name of an anonymous family from a Christmas secret Santa list, showing up to their house with the items on their list, only to find we knew them. They were dedicated volunteers of our church who had been keeping their baby’s milk cold on the back porch because they didn’t have a working fridge. At the time we lived in Chicago. In a sense the fix worked, but it clearly wasn’t sustainable. It was one of my first lessons on not judging a book by its cover; that your neighbor could be the very one struggling and it’s our job to find a sustainable solution to meet that need.

Serving on the Natick Personnel Board has allowed me the opportunity to collaborate with a dedicated group of volunteers to review, restructure and approve our Town’s job descriptions; to review and approve the Town’s payplan; to remove outdated language that presented a barrier to entry; and to think strategically about positioning our Town’s roles in order to attract a wider and more diverse pool of candidates.

In addition to serving on the Town’s Personnel Board, I also serve as a board member for the United Way of Tri-County. As a board member I collaborate on the development and approval of policies and strategies of the organization. Not only do I serve in a board role, but I also volunteer my time during opportunities for community outreach.

Community outreach and community connection are the fabric of my personal and professional values. My career has spanned almost 20 years in journalism and communications. I started my career in hospitality and private equity communications. The bulk of my career was spent as a local television news reporter and anchor, including in New Hampshire and at NBC10 Boston. I know firsthand the power in a story, strong communications, building trust in local communities and collaboration that can change the trajectory of the most vulnerable.

One of my most impactful stories was that of a teenage refugee student. Her family fled a war-torn country in Africa, was granted asylum,  and moved to Texas. Most of the refugee students were proficient in math and four to five languages but they struggled with English. At the time, these students were required to take and pass the state proficiency exams within less than two years of enrolling. These students were failing and struggling to keep up. As a result of the story, Texas State Congresswoman Susan King wrote House Bill 853 to provide more time for refugee students to learn English and take the exam. The bill passed with bipartisan support, changing their lives and the lives of everyone to come after them.

Currently, I oversee social media strategy for the Division of Continuing Education at Harvard University. This role has allowed me to blend storytelling with the innovation of technology at one the greatest higher education institutions in the world. I also serve as the co-chair on the Dean’s Council for Employee Experience. On the Council, I have the opportunity to listen to my fellow colleague’s pain points, and together with the other members of the Council, partner with the University to come up with long-term solutions and strategies that improve overall culture, morale and well-being for all stakeholders.

Complementary to my in-house professional work, I am a business owner. In 2019, I founded Pope Productions, Inc, a storytelling production company. Within my company, I hire and manage diverse teams of 2 to 20 people per project; oversee and manage large production budgets and tight deadlines; obtain business licenses, insurances, and certifications, make critical decisions for the business and produce award-winning products.

NR: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish in your 3-year tenure as a Select Board member?

Kristen Pope: If elected to the Select Board, in my term I would like to accomplish these goals:

Increase representation in town government: Representation is important. It validates the experiences, the identity of specific groups of people and without them, we are missing pieces of the puzzle. Our town is roughly 20% non-white. Through education, raising awareness, creating systems of support, outreach and communication infrastructure, I am supporting the growth of minority and underrepresented populations serving in town government.

Prioritizing efficient and accessible town government: Right now, our town is engaged in and undergoing a town governance review. This review is essential to determining how well our government is operating and where it could use improvement. There are opportunities for our government to run more efficiently, more speedily, to remove barriers to entry and create pathways and systems for more neighbors to get involved.

Creating efficient and inclusive methods of communication for Natick: As a communications professional for almost 20 years, I will add value and work with the Select Board and the communications director to create equitable, inclusive and broad systems of communication to our neighbors. In order to have greater town participation, we have to meet people where they are. That involves surveying how people absorb and consume communication, what they feel they’re missing, and how we can support the effective creation of coverage and distribution of this valuable connection between the Town and the people it serves.

Increase affordable housing in Natick: Massachusetts is in a housing crisis. It’s not a Natick issue only; however, we need to add to our affordable housing stock. Affordable housing will support a diverse population and economic base. We have several pathways to accomplishing this: through the 5 Auburn Street property, zoning overlay districts, and the Community Preservation Act.

Attracting smart growth to Natick: One of the key elements that drew Richard and I to Natick was our downtown, the mall, and the Golden Triangle. As a small business owner, I want to see our business footprint grow, sustain itself, thrive and diversify in ownership. For this reason, I support keeping a single tax rate.

Continuing the implementation of a plan to accept unaccepted roads: Unaccepted roads are a sore spot for many of us who live and travel on them. A plan was created in 2018 to begin this process. I wanted to review this plan to determine how to best  implement it, find funding to support it, and continue on the pathway to accepting unaccepted roads.

NR: How should voters reach you if they want more information?

Kristen Pope: I would love to hear from and listen to you! You can reach out to me through my website: kristenfornatick.org; email: kristenfornatick@gmail.com; or send me a direct message on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kristenfornatick

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Roger Scott

Roger Scott will appear on the ballot as a Select Board candidate.

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