Shrewsbury 2023 Candidate Profile: Carlos Garcia, Select Board

SHREWSBURY, MA — Shrewsbury voters in 2023 will have to make a choice in the select board race, where five candidates are competing for two seats.

Of those candidates, only Beth Casavant is returning to run for reelection. Select Board Chair Maurice DePalo, who was first elected to the select board in 1993, is not running for reelection.
Residents James Brown, Siobhan Costello-Weber, Carlos Garcia and Rajesh Uppalapati have filed to run in the hopes of picking up the open seat.

To help voters get to know the 2023 candidates, Shrewsbury Patch sent each one a questionnaire ahead of the May 2 election. Here's how Garcia responded:

Relevant experience

I have had the honor of serving our community in local government, first as a Town Meeting Member since 2017, and now as the Vice Chair of the Finance Committee. I’ve gone through our Town's budgets line-by-line for six years, and have advocated for much-needed investments in areas such as our public safety, our public schools, and our public infrastructure. I also have the lived experience of growing up in a low-income home, so I understand intimately how decisions made at the local level can impact families like mine.

Why are you running for select board this year?

I am running for Select Board because I believe that community should be at the forefront of all of our conversations and decisions. As an active member of our local government, I have participated in many discussions with town department heads and community members about the challenges and opportunities that we face here in town. I pride myself in being a collaborator, and will work alongside our other committees and boards to achieve the goals that our community has set out for us, which are highlighted in the 2030 Strategic Plan. I also will work to make sure that our local government is being as transparent and accessible as possible, so that there are no doubts about the decisions officials make. I am proud to be the only Town Meeting Member to publicly post my voting record, and I have been doing so since 2017 to give my constituents more information on where I stand on the various Articles that come before us at Town Meeting. I believe that my years of municipal service, my thoughtful approach to the issues, and my personal story will be an asset to me on the Board as we guide our community forward in the years to come.

What's one thing Shrewsbury is lacking right now, and what would you do about it?

People across our community are feeling squeezed by rising costs and inflation. We are a growing community, and yet there are so many in our town who are wondering how long they will be able to stay in the town that they love. As a Town Meeting Member and Finance Committee Member, I have been proud to support initiatives that have expanded relief options for those who are being hit the hardest, like our seniors, those with disabilities, our veterans, and our low-income families. As a Select Board member, I will continue to work diligently with our town staff and community members to make sure that we are not only finding more ways to provide relief to our residents, but to make sure that we are effectively communicating out those options that are available to folks. It is disheartening the number of conversations I have had with residents who are unaware of the relief options that they may be eligible for, and our Town needs to do better in disseminating out critical information to help our residents. As someone who grew up in a low-income home, this issue is extremely important and personal to me, and I would work hard to make sure that we are helping families.

Shrewsbury's downtown area around the common is being studied for transportation upgrades and a new development at the former Beal School. What's your vision for this part of town?

My vision for the Town Center is one where we have vibrancy, that is a gathering place for folks to enjoy each other’s company, that offers a variety of activities, businesses, and restaurants for people to frequent, and a place for individuals to call home. I am eager to see the results and recommendations that come out of the Town’s Comprehensive Transportation and Multimodal Study, because I think that promoting alternative means to navigate through our downtown is important in reducing traffic, promoting our local businesses, and mitigating the concerns that may arise with future development of the downtown.

Shrewsbury is a WRTA member community, but only a small portion of Route 9 and the common area have fixed route service. Would you like to change the town's access to public transit in any way?

Increasing access to public transit is critical in connecting our neighborhoods to businesses and recreational activities throughout town. I am pleased that the WRTA advisory board voted recently to extend the fare-free bus service through June 2024, and I am eager to work with stakeholders and our state delegation to increase Shrewsbury’s access to WRTA bus services throughout the town. I also want to make sure that residents are aware of the WRTA’s on-demand service, Via, which works similar to Uber/Lyft, yet is far more affordable. Increasing our community's access to WRTA’s services will not only reduce traffic throughout our community, but also reduce our town’s overall carbon footprint, and make our residents healthier.

What's your favorite thing to do as an activity in Shrewsbury?

There is so much to love about Shrewsbury! I enjoy taking walks along the Burns Bridge, reading the plaques about our local history, and seeing the different lights that they display, which typically honor and commemorate different causes. As a foodie, I also enjoy frequenting our locally-owned restaurants and diners. Spending time with my younger siblings at our parks is a favorite pastime of ours in the warmer months.