To my fellow Reading Residents,

I would like to take this opportunity to formally announce my candidacy for Board of Selectmen. Having lived in town with my family (husband Steve and daughter Madeleine, 11) for 15 years, I now welcome the opportunity to continue the tradition of strong resident advocacy established by Camille Anthony and a commitment to making the right decisions for Reading now and in the future.

If elected to the Board of Selectmen (BOS), I will bring my unique educational and businesses qualifications, leadership experience, as well as 10 years of active and collaborative town government participation.   

I believe that my educational background, Boston College (BA), and Bentley University (Masters in Business Administration), provides me with the analytical tools required for any task the BOS may face in the next three years, from potentially selecting the next Town Manager to shepherding the town through a regionalization of services and the continued revitalization of the downtown shopping and smart growth areas.

My professional resume encompasses both large and small business experience. Prior to 2001, I successfully performed high tech consulting, project management, business development and process improvement for Fortune 500 firms including Accenture and Oracle, Kodak, Sunoco, Avid Technologies and others. Since 2003, I have been a local small business owner as an agent and then Broker with Boardwalk Real Estate and RE/MAX Heritage,LLC. As a business owner, I understand just how dependent the community is upon our support and have been proud to be a frequent financial contributor to local arts, sports, civic, PTO and neighborhood efforts like the Wood End Playground. In between, these business ventures, I had the opportunity to work as a para educator in our middle schools and as a result possess an insiders understanding of our award winning school system.

Perhaps, my most important qualification for Selectman is ten years of dedicated and active participation on Town Meeting and in other diverse capacities. While a Town Meeting Member, I served as Precinct 8 Chair for two years and successfully initiated a by-law change to allow under ground propane storage. This effort involved convincing Fire Prevention, the Town Mgr's office, the BOS, and also my fellow town meeting members, and could not have been accomplished without technical support from MA DEP. While a Town Meeting member, I also served three years on the Historical Commission, and one "term" each on the Solid Waste and the Tax Classification committees. All of these experiences have given me a great base of knowledge, which I will then bring to the Board of Selectmen.

When my husband and I first moved to Reading in 1996, we were attracted by the stable real estate values, top performing schools and proximity to Boston and major commuting routes. Today, homebuyers still come to Reading for the above reasons—but now they also want to live near downtown so they can walk to restaurants and shopping! 

If elected, it will be my great privilege to dedicate my experience, leadership and commitment to continue Reading's tradition of providing a high standard of service, small town quality of life, and fiscal responsibility.

Sincerely yours,

Karen Gately Herrick