BELCHERTOWN — The race for a Select Board seat in Belchertown is heating up less than a week before the election as the current vice chair of the Finance Committee looks to unseat the Select Board chair seeking reelection.
The town election on Monday, May 18, also features a contested race for School Committee. Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Belchertown High School.
After three years of launching plans and projects, Select Board incumbent Lesa Lessard Pearson aims for another term to achieve tangible progress in commercial and residential infrastructure that residents have long requested. Newcomer Mike McMorrow, however, wants to focus on improving community climate and business relations by bolstering townwide communication and collaboration.
Despite their different angles, both candidates share a passion for community and a desire to create a more inclusive, unified community.
Mike McMorrow
When McMorrow wanted to settle down and raise a family, Belchertown was the obvious choice. He spent most of his childhood in Belchertown, developing lifelong friendships. His parents remained in town even after McMorrow took off around the world to serve in the U.S. Air Force. With family members in town government and three children attending his alma maters, every decision Belchertown leadership makes is deeply personal to McMorrow.
“We are living the decisions being made,” he said. “We are not watching from the sidelines, and I think it’s important that the person making the decisions is directly impacted.”
With so much skin in the game already, McMorrow wants to ascend past his advisory role as the Finance Committee vice chair to the room where it happens as a Select Board member.
Should he be elected, McMorrow’s main focus would be communication across the board. Whether it’s getting information out to residents, collaborating between departments or working with businesses to strengthen the commercial sector, the backbone of community trust and growth in Belchertown relies on consistent connection and conversation.
“The goal is communication because once you have all the pieces, you can paint the bigger picture,” McMorrow said. “From what I’m seeing, we are only getting half the pieces and when it’s time to put together the picture, everyone is on a different page.”
This becomes evident with Belchertown’s economic development, he said. McMorrow explains that the empty storefronts communicate a struggling commercial sector and deter businesses from settling in town. The best marketing, therefore, comes from discussions between prospective business owners and town representatives to quell concerns and offer incentives to join the community. This same approach will apply at a state level.
“It’s tough, but we need to be more proactive. We need leaders to ask the tough questions and advocate at the state level,” McMorrow said.
Further communication would also achieve McMorrow’s other focus: unification of town leadership. The division between the School Committee and Select Board has trickled down to the larger community, which stems in large part from not establishing a relationship between the two entities, he said.
“Bring people back together is the main goal, this is how I see myself being able to do that,” he said. “This town has changed so much from when I grew up here, and I would like to see myself get it back to what it was.”
Lesa Lessard Pearson
Pearson moved to town five years ago, and immediately jumped into action. Despite others telling her “it couldn’t be done,” Pearson and another resident successfully lobbied to raise a Pride flag in June for Pride Month. The momentum continued into a full-on Pride celebration and parade.
“That was not my doing,” Pearson said. “This has taken on a life of its own. To me, that’s a sign of true leadership. It’s no longer yours, it’s the community’s.”
This initiative and advocacy has served her well on the Select Board over the last three years. During her time on the Select Board, Pearson says she’s remained focused on inclusive town services for everyone from lifelong residents on limited incomes to new families just starting their life in Belchertown.
While Pearson has begun to see progress, she’s asking voters for another term to see these projects to completion.
“I need another three years to continue to pull all these different departments and functionalities together, so we are working as one,” she said.
Fostering business in Belchertown requires community participation, Pearson said. While serving as Select Board chair, Pearson helped transition marketing responsibilities from a handful of volunteer committees to Town Manager Steve Williams. This way, Williams can galvanize the full force of the municipal government to market Belchertown.
“It’s everybody’s full-time job,” Pearson said. “Not only the volunteers but all of the town government, and the Select Board and School Committee because we want to market what our assets are in all areas so this becomes the destination for people to build businesses.”
Now that the Belchertown Economic Development Industrial Corporation (BEDIC) has been reorganized, Pearson aims to ensure the Belchertown State School redevelopment sees progress in the next term.
“I want to be there to not only encourage but to fight for housing or light industry,” she said. “We certainly talked about building a nursing home and that’s critically important because we have none now.”
Pearson has also dedicated hours to infrastructure development. She worked with the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness 2.0 working group to develop an Affordable Housing Trust. Along with the grant manager, Pearson applied for a $1.5 million MVP grant to get a potential community center “shovel ready.” Both projects could expand opportunities for residents in a community Pearson truly loves.
“I’m thrilled this is where I live,” she said. “The small town atmosphere where everyone knows each other is something I grew up with. It feels in some ways I’ve gone full circle.”
