CUMMINGTON — In 1979, Monica Vandoloski made history becoming the first woman to be elected to the Cummington Select Board. Now, decades later, and after three stints on the town’s governing body, Vandoloski has chosen not to run for re-election.
“I hope I have helped people,” Vandoloski said. “I have tried hard to be a benefit to the community.”
Vandoloski, 80, said that it’s time for someone else to learn the job. However, she’s hoping that she can continue to assist the Select Board by continuing to serve as administrative secretary, a paid part-time position.
Vandoloski had another thing that set her apart in her 1979 campaign for Select Board.
“I was a newcomer,” she said. “I only moved here in 1969.”
Vandoloski grew up in Hadley. She and her husband, the late Ray Vandoloski, moved to Cummington after he got to know people there from his hobby of raccoon hunting.
“We were looking for peaceful,” Vandoloski said.
Vandoloski has a son, who still lives in town, as well as two grandchildren. She also worked for 23 years in the Hampshire Registry of Deeds.
In the 1979 election, Vandoloski squared off against incumbent Stanley Svoboda, whom Vandoloski described as a “wonderful man.”
She said that there was no rancor between the two of them in that campaign and that she knocked on every door in town.
“Some doors I was told no, they’d never vote for me, I was a woman,” Vandoloski said. “But at least they were honest.”
She also recalled how supporters Jim and Janet Martin painted an outbuilding on their property with “Monica Vandoloski for Selectman.” However, that would be the campaign’s only sign on either side.
“We didn’t do those things back then,” Vandoloski said.
She also said that she got to enjoy the town’s 1979 bicentennial, which she helped to plan, as a selectwoman. “It was a real town community effort to make it such a success,” she said.
Vandoloski would serve her first stint on the Select Board from 1979 to 1988. She would then serve another three-year term from 1990 to 1993, before returning to the board in 2008, when she won the election as a write-in candidate. She’s been re-elected ever since.
“I feel 25 years is a long time,” she said.
Vandoloski chose to not seek nomination at this year’s town caucus, and the only person who was nominated for the post was Brian Gilman.
“It’s humbling to step into the shoes that she’s vacating,” Gilman said.
He said that Vandoloski served Cummington selflessly, and he looks to her leadership as a model.
“I really would like to focus on building community,” Gilman said on what he’d like to do as a selectman.
He’s also like to spend some time learning the role.
The election will take place on May 10, and the only races contested on the ballot will be for seats on the Cummington Recreation and Pettingill Memorial Field Committee, where incumbents Donna Forgea, Amy Grallert and Laurie Frietag will face off against challengers Joshua Wachtel and Peg Cowen for three seats.
Eliza Dragon, the chairwoman the Cummington Select Board, said she was encouraged to run by Vandoloski’s strong female leadership.
“She definitely opened doors,” Dragon said. “It’s been an honor to work with her.”
Dragon described Vandoloski as a wealth of knowledge whom she often goes to for advice, as well as a pillar of the community.
“She knows everyone here,” Dragon said. “She cares deeply about our town.”
Dragon also noted that Vandoloski will often play devil’s advocate on issues so that people have a comprehensive view of what’s being discussed. “She just wants to make sure people are really thinking about things,” she said.
Dragon also said that Vandoloski is a very thoughtful person, who will reach out when people are in need.
Kenneth “Trudge” Howes is the other member of the Select Board who currently serves with Vandoloski.
“She’s going to be missed on the board,” he said.
Dragon noted that the board will have less experience without Vandoloski, as Dragon has been on it for about two years and Howes for about a year.
Vandoloski said that one of the things she did to learn the job of a Select Board member was to ride in town trucks during the winter to learn their plowing routes. And she noted that, aside from employees in the highway department, everyone who works for the town is either a volunteer or is paid a small amount.
“The community needs to be very proud of the people who step forward to make sure that the town of Cummington is running smoothly,” Vandoloski said.