Wrentham Selectmen Race: Meet the Candidates in Tuesday's Election

Wrentham will see the outcome of the latest contested election for the Board of Selectmen April 30.

This year, Geroge Smith has thrown his hat in the ring again against either Gail Pratt or Joseph Botaish.

Currently, there are two seats available with Smith running against the incumbents. Smith says he wants to reorganize the Wrentham selectmen to be more efficient than before.

Smith added he wants to see people coming into Wrentham for more than just its Outlet Mall and get tourists to support more local and small businesses.

“It seems we can do more to encourage residents from other communities to visit Wrentham and take advantage of our great lakes by fishing, boating or swimming,” he stated on his Web site.

Smith said he's served on the Wrentham Conservation Commission, and has served as a selectman in the past, but decided to take care of his family at the time.

Selectmen incumbent Gail Pratt said the board is already doing a great deal to improve the town, but she feels the work is not nearly done yet.

“There’s still things that I would like to see done,” she said. “There are a number of small projects that are incomplete right now. There are a lot of things that are being done in the town to improve it.”

Pratt added she wants to continue to serve the town in a fiscally responsible manner.

“I would like to see the board of selectmen continue in the way they have,” she said. “We’ve done a balanced budget, we haven’t had to lay anyone off and there’s been no lack of services. I would just like to see the town continue the way it is without any micromanaging of people etc. etc.”

She said one of the main issues she wants to develop is revenue, and the best way she said was to develop new areas in the town.

“Like Route 1 for example,” she said.

Botaish said he also wants to continue the work he and Pratt started three years ago when they were originally elected for their terms.

“What I’m looking to accomplish is a lot of things have been started,” he said. “We’ve been able to reform the way things are done in town hall to make it more efficient and to create revenue to fund the programs that have been cut.”

Botaish added in the current board of selectmen, they have also been able to increase funds to each government body, with the exception of the board of health.

“We’ve been funded recently all our departments at a higher rate,” he said. “We’ve funded everybody more now then we’ve ever funded before. We’re pretty much restoring our services.”

The contest will be decided April 30, during the town’s combined election with the Republican state primary.