Reading Select Board Member Karen Gately Herrick Seeks Re-Election

READING, MA — Town of Reading Select Board member Karen Gately Herrick has announced she is running for re-election.

The election is scheduled for April 4, and Gateley Herrick's seat is one of two that will be in play. Board member Carlo Bacci's term also expires this spring.

First elected to the board in 2020, Gateley Herrick spent time as the board chair. She currently is the vice chair.

In a press release, Gateley Herrick highlighted her accomplishments as a member of the board, which included allocating $7.6 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding, leading the town's efforts to join the Green Communities program and advocating for community priorities and downtown revitalization.

"I am honored to have been able to partner with our talented town staff and forward-looking public officials to achieve these goals for Reading," Gately Herrick said in a message to voters. "Building up our community requires passion, hard work, a willingness to listen and the ability to join forces with and inspire confidence in volunteers and staff. With your support, I look forward to continuing building on these successes for our community. I respectfully ask for your vote on or before April 4."

In her re-election announcement, Gately Herrick mentioned volunteer work she has done since moving to Reading in 1996, including with PTO, St. Athanasius Parish, the Wood End accessible playground project and the library renovation.

Gately Herrick said that during her time on the Select Board, she prioritized community input for the broad allocating of ARPA funds that enabled important investments in infrastructure, Birch Meadow improvements, health services and senior programs. All of it done without raising taxes, according to Gately Herrick.

Gately Herrick said her role in helping Reading join the state's Green Communities program has made the town eligible for up to $250,000 in energy efficiency grants per year.

The effort, according to Gately Herrick, included her testifying on Beacon Hill before the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy, and organizing a resolution from the Select Board to state decision makers.

Gately Herrick also collaborated with Reading Municipal Light Department and the town's Climate Advisory Committee to complete necessary Green Communities application steps like adopting Stretch Energy Code for more efficient buildings.

"Thanks to the dedicated work of town staff, RMLD and other local elected officials, in September 2022, the State House passed and Gov. Charlie Baker signed the new law allowing Reading to join Green Communities."

Gately Herrick's said her other accomplishments included: blocking a taxpayer-funded cellular tower, championing a community garden, supporting the creation of a Business Improvement District, supporting new downtown events like Winterfest, ushering in Reading's first official Juneteenth celebration and voting for the town's first diversity, equity and inclusion director.