Reading Candidate Profile: Karen Gately Herrick For Select Board

READING, MA — The Town of Reading's Annual Town Election is on Tuesday.

The offices on the ballot for this election are: Moderator, Select Board, Board of Library Trustees, Municipal Light Board, School Committee and Town Meeting Members.

A sample ballot is available online.

Here is some more information about the upcoming election.

Patch is profiling some of the candidates. Here, we learn more about Karen Gately Herrick, an incumbent who is running against fellow incumbent Carlo Bacci and challenger Melissa Lee Murphy for two open seats on the Select Board.

Candidates were sent questionnaires and filled out the answers.

Karen Gately Herrick

Campaign website

www.VoteKarenHerrick.com

Age (as of Election Day)

55
Office sought

Reading Select Board (Incumbent seeking re-election)

Family

Husband Stephen, would rather be skiing, is a former Town Meeting Member and has been serving on the Audit Committee for over a decade. Daughter: Madeleine. She is passionate about climate advocacy and has been excelling as my deputy campaign manager.

Education

Boston College, BA, philosophy/computer science

MBA: Bentley University

Occupation

20 years RE/MAX broker and realtor in MA and FL. Prior: 15 years software, design, project management and consulting for Accenture and Oracle.

Previous or current elected or appointed office

21 years Town Meeting Precinct 8 (2 years precinct chair), appointed to Reading Finance Committee 5 years, 3 years Reading Historical Commission, 2 years Wood End School Council, Reading Solid Waste Committee, Library Building Committee.

Why are you seeking elective office?

Reading deserves proven leadership and I enjoy working on behalf of and with residents and other stakeholders to ensure 1) continued sound fiscal management of our tax dollars and community assets 2) environmental stewardship and the transition of our municipal and school buildings to
net zero by 2050 3) that our town government is responsive to resident concerns like
affordability and the need for a senior center and a renovated Killam School and 4) that
Reading is a community that is welcoming, inclusive and accepting of all residents.

Describe the issues that define your campaign platform

My campaign has been about defining the candidate who has delivered results for Reading and who will continue to work hard for the voters in a second term. As chair and vice chair, my
leadership led to the timely and successful hiring of our third town manager, Fidel
Maltez, who has been an incredible asset in his first 14 months.

With strong support and encouragement from myself and current chair Mark Dockser, staff has exceeded all expectations by winning over $8 million in supplemental grants since 2021. This
achievement combined with two years of record high free cash balances puts Reading
in an incredibly strong financial position —the best I have ever seen.

When Reading was awarded $7.6 million in federal pandemic grants, I helped define the community priority driven process by which the Select Board allocated funds to numerous projects including: Phase 1 of the Birch Meadow Master Plan, a new reading curriculum for the elementary schools, contributions to the Reading Food Pantry, Chamber of Commerce and Town Forest, and to mitigate water and sewer expenses.

One of the key issues for me if elected to a second term will to be to focus on improving
affordability for seniors and families in Reading. While the Senior Circuit breaker is a great
program, in practice and scope, it benefits only about 200 seniors annually. We must do
more.

Two areas in which the Select Board can provide additional needed relief are by implementing
tiered water rates as most MWRA communities have done, and a property tax policy that
distributes the tax burden fairly among commercial and residential tax payers.

In addition, Town Meeting sent a strong directive to the Select Board that affordable housing is critical priority. I am fully supportive of the new Affordable Housing Trust and an I look forward to the appointing the committee members, so they can begin determining the best path forward to improve housing affordability for veterans, seniors, families and staff.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

My key differentiator is my more than two decades of experience as a municipal and community volunteer. I have the proven ability to collaborate with our elected state officials, staff, volunteers, RMLD leadership, and my Select Board colleagues to achieve important goals such as: new legislation to allow Reading to join Green Communities (a grant program which will provide up to $250K per year), the installation of our first public electric vehicle chargers, the acquisition of "Lot 5" to provide safe access to the Town Forest, and the creation of our Community Garden.

When you have served on a number of town boards or committees, you can appreciate these pockets of expertise and the value they add to our town. I see recruiting volunteers and town meeting members as a critical part of being a Select Board member. How can you effectively recruit for committees when you may not even understand the body's purpose, let alone value their hard work? Reading runs on volunteers. They are to be respected.

If you are an incumbent, how long have you served in this position and what are your major
accomplishments while in office?

I was sworn in a few days before the lockdown and we met weekly as the Select Board
the first year. Looking back on the three years — at least half of it remote Zoom
meetings — I am proud to have supported two town managers in navigating a challenging
social and economic crisis and seeing the community emerge stronger than ever.

We have celebrated many 'wins,' but two of my proudest accomplishments relate to my
leadership role as Select Board chair in the hiring of Fidel Maltez, and collaboration with
staff, volunteers and our state delegation to identify and secure over $8 million in just two
years. Reading rocketed from zero to 60 terms of results when it comes to supplemental grant
funding. If I were to pick a third accomplishment, it would be the collaborative success regarding the water tank that saved taxpayers from spending $300,000 on an unwanted cell tower and resulted in the approval of a clean and safe new park on Auburn Street.

Responsive government should strive to improve neighborhoods after major disruption and this new park will benefit the community for years to come.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I have loved living in Reading since my husband and I moved here in 1996. Having
grown up in Lynn, I knew that I wanted a community that valued their schools and their
green spaces and was financially well run. Now that my daughter has graduated both
the Reading Public Schools and college, I want to ensure that high quality educational
experience for others through my work on the Killam School Building Committee — but I
also respect that our seniors deserve equal treatment.

I will continue to work tirelessly with the COA and all stakeholders on finding and building a senior/community center of suitable size and with the appropriate service levels. My advocacy with our elected state delegates over the past three years on behalf of Reading has proven to be a
sound investment for Reading, and my work will continue if elected to a second term on the Reading Select Board.