Candidate currently serves on Tewksbury State Hospital Board of Trustees and has worked to improve communication with town
Jomarie Buckley is one of four candidates for two open seats on the Tewksbury Select Board. You can hear from Jomarie and the other candidates on Thursday night at the Crier & Carnation Candidates Forum.
Tewksbury Carnation: Why do you want to serve on the Select Board?
Jomarie Buckley: I seek to serve on the Select Board because I am qualified for the position. This is a pivotal time for Tewksbury. As a nation we are facing the most uncertain times in the last 15 years and we need to focus on the pragmatic, the proactive, and the productive. I know municipal budgets, I have developed public policy in times of crisis, and I wouldn’t be asking for my fellow Tewksburian’s votes if I didn’t know that I am more than capable of leading and more than willing to work for each and every one of us.
TC: Give us a brief bio: Where you grew up, family, interests.
JB: I was born in Lawrence and moved to Burlington when I was two years old. I raised my children in Wilmington for 18 years before moving to Tewksbury in 2021. I have four children. My oldest son is a Junior at Bryant University. My oldest daughter is a Sophomore at Northeastern University. My youngest son is a Junior at Shawsheen Tech and my youngest daughter is in 8th grade. My husband is a lifelong Tewksbury resident who is a Director at the Tewksbury Community Pantry and member of the Open Space & Recreation Plan Committee. We have three dogs and three cats. I enjoy spending time outdoors, watching my youngest daughter play on both her travel and club sports teams, and trying to find time to read some fiction. I am beginning to take more and more advantage of the trail systems in town and I hope I am inspiring others to do the same. Some real hidden gems!
TC: What is your education?
JB: I graduated from Burlington High School in the Class of 1994. I obtained my B.S. in Business Communications from Bentley College (now Bentley University) in 1998 and my Juris Doctorate from Suffolk University Law School in 2002.
TC: What is your “day job,” and how do your past or current professional experiences prepare you for service on the Select Board?
JB: For the last eight years, I have been an attorney for the Department of Children and Families. Prior to that, I had my own law practice for ten years. My professional experience is heavily involved in negotiation and litigation. I perform my job every day assessing risk, exploring all sides of an argument, and coming up with the best plan to reach a goal. In the field of Child Welfare, in particular, there are many variables that can impact a legal case and I need to have a broad knowledge across many different areas. This translates seamlessly into the role as a Select Board member who, in the course of their duty, has to assess various issues and evaluate the best options for the residents of Tewksbury.
TC: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish in the next three years as a Select Board member?
JB: One of my main objectives over the next three years and to work with the state delegation to either have Tewksbury into the PILOT Program or to have a comparable law passed for Tewksbury so that we will have guaranteed funds within the Commonwealth’s budget annually.
TC: How do you define your budget priorities if tough decisions have to be made?
JB: Tewksbury’s budgetary issues are similar to a household’s budgetary issues and I think we can all agree that these past few years have required further assessment as to our priorities. As the costs of living continued to increase, we must determine the best ways to save to continue to create a safety net as well as spend responsibly. Tewksbury has a strong financial plan and in the future we need to focus on strengthening the town’s finances through means other than the residential taxpayer. When tough decisions must be made, we focus on the necessities, ensuring we are supporting our current infrastructure.
TC: Do you feel that Town Meeting is still effective or would you support moving to a representative Town Meeting or even a city structure?
JB: Open Town Meeting is the truest form of democracy and I do not support changing the format to representative Town Meeting. Nor do I support changing Tewksbury’s form of government to a “city structure.” Allowing an open town meeting, where every registered voter’s voice has the right to be heard, is how we, the people of Tewksbury, continue to shape our shared future; openly, transparently, and communally.
TC: What do you think is the biggest challenge facing Tewksbury, and how will you address it?
JB: Tewksbury’s biggest challenge continues to be the demand for responsible growth while maintaining the small town feel that draws people to move to Tewksbury. With state mandates that require us to plan for an uncertain population, my job as a member of the Select Board will be to work with the state delegation, town management, and other boards & committees to ensure we are aways making the most responsible, big picture, growth-selective, decisions for the Town.
TC: What is your position on how Tewksbury should, or should not, comply with the MBTA Communities Act?
JB: The MBTA Communities Act is a great example of the state mandates I fear may become more common in the future. However, this Act already exists so we, as a municipality, have to deal with it and work within it. To not comply with the Act would mean eliminating necessary state funding that our town can’t afford to lose. I have reviewed the presentations and options that the town considered and believe the one that is being proposed at Town Meeting is the least disruptive of all the options.
To be clear, my understanding of this Act is that it is NOT a requirement to build and it is NOT a mandate that any units built must all be deemed affordable housing. It is a mandate to have an approved plan. Choosing a location that is already zoned for multi-family housing makes sense. If the plan ever became a reality, I would expect the town to hold the developer to the same standards that are always expected, with mitigation of traffic issues, stormwater run-off, as well as any other concerns that may arise.
TC: If you see noncompliance as an option, what is your plan to deal with any financial penalties or legal action?
JB: I don’t see non-compliance as an option.
TC: How do you think Tewksbury can best be proactive in regard to services and development at the Tewksbury State Hospital?
JB: In the two years I have been on the Tewksbury State Hospital (TSH) Board of Trustees, I have worked hard to foster improvements in the communication between the Town and the TSH. The town and TSH administrators now meet regularly to discuss the paramount issue of safety (patient and citizen) as well as first responder calls. With TSH’s new and committed leadership, a dynamic vision for their future has developed. It is a plan to secure the best future of care for their patients and the best future as a partner of the Tewksbury community. In the past is the drain on local resources, in the future is being an asset to the town, compensating the town for services rendered, and being a beacon of open space and recreation. The town’s largest employer with a campus of 800 acres needn’t be a walled city unknown and unexplored by the families of Tewksbury. As a Select Board member, I will continue to be the liaison between the town and Hospital, to continue to have everyone at the table when dialogues are demanded.
I must note — and I would be remiss did I not — that the State Hospital is doing herculean things with a pauper’s purse. It is only one of two hospitals in the Commonwealth that has both a fully operational medical hospital and mental health hospital within the same facility. TSH has many valuable, independent programs that function as tenants on the campus. It operates a world-renowned Huntington’s Disease Program and the rehabilitation programs on the mental health side are exceptional and engaging. Tewksbury should be proud of the TSH and TSH is proud to be part of our community.
TC: What didn’t we ask that you would like to share with voters?
JB: I have spent much of my life volunteering and in 2010 I started what is now the largest volunteer organization in Wilmington (We’re One Wilmington). I was the president of the Wilmington Educational Foundation, winner of the Wilmington Good Guy award in 2011, 2016 Recipient of the Commission on the Status of Women Unsung Heroine Award, Governor’s Appointee for the Wilmington Housing Authority and I was previously a Wilmington Selectman.
Currently, I am in the process of starting a similar non-profit volunteer organization in Tewksbury (Tewksbury Together). I am a a Director and the Clerk for the Tewksbury Community Pantry, Trustee on the Tewksbury State Hospital Board of Trustees, board member for the St. Paul’s Soup Kitchen in Lowell and Catechist at the Parish of the Transfiguration.
Please check out my website at www.buckleyfortewksbury.com or my Facebook page: Jomarie Buckley for Tewksbury Select Board
Finally, I will be holding coffee hours at the Tewksbury Starbucks on Saturday, March 23 from 2-4 p.m. and Saturday, March 30 from 2-4 p.m. for anyone who would like to talk with me.
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