Woodard Wowed Over Effort to Win Election

With election season over, Chuck Woodard is now reflecting on an effort he says he didn’t realize would be so difficult.

But if there is one thing one of the two new members on Sudbury’s Board of Selectmen learned, it was to appreciate everyone who runs for an elected office.

“There’s a whole lot you have to do I didn’t know,” he said. “I didn’t appreciated it until the end. If you want to win, you can’t stop (campaigning). At the end of the day, you ask yourself what else can I do? Is there one more call, one more email? It's 24-7 until (it’s over) if you want to win. There’s no coasting. It was a great experience, nothing else like it. I marvel at the whole thing, a great process.”

Woodard defeated Thaddeus Gozdeck for the newly created two-year seat by a mere 25 votes, 2,267-2,242.

“I thanked Tadj for his willingness to serve,”Woodard said. “You gotta respect a guy who worked as hard as that.”

But Woodard put in a similar effort, if not more.

He spent three full Saturdays at the transfer station campaigning, listening to people’s concerns. He spend so much time campaigning at Sudbury Farms, he got to know the staff on a personal basis.

Woodard said he created 600 information cards to hand out during the election season. Only 10 were left over.

And thanks to the help from his wife, Lisa Eggleston, and his many supporters, that effort paid off.

“I spoke a lot, explaining to people why they should vote for me,” he said. “I enjoyed it, people were willing to listen. And talking face to face, most said they would vote for me.”

The former Finance Committee member said he plans to use his experience on FINCOM to help make the best decisions for Sudbury.

“My FINCOM experience and knowledge will be important,” he said. “I’ll do my best to have a postive impact. I know so much of what the town is doing and what needs to be done. I’m looking forward to this. I think I can do some good.”

Sudbury Town Clerk Rosemary Harvell said Woodard, along with Leonard Simon, who won the three-year seat, probably won't be sworn in until July 8.

"The election isn't certified yet, but will be probably within five days," she said on June 26.

The Board's next scheduled meeting is July 9.