WORTHINGTON — With no other contested races on the ballot this Saturday, voters will decide between incumbent Deb Rocque and write-in candidate Steve Strom in a Select Board contest that reflects differing visions of the town’s future.
Both candidates, who have extensive resumes working with wildlife and conservation, share the belief that the town needs a plan to draw younger residents and must proactively preserve its rural character.
However, Rocque, who was elected to fill an open seat last spring and has served on the board for about a year, said her focus is preparing a long-term future plan for the town. Part of that plan will include seeking new dining spots and offering things to do in town that complement Worthington’s rural character.
Meanwhile, Strom’s primary focus revolves around preserving the town that has gone “unchanged for decades.” He wants to pass on the town as a “sanctuary for future generations.”
By far the most contested topic in town is the development of large-scale solar arrays, as the Planning Board is vetting applications for two arrays. During a special Town Meeting in February, residents voted in favor of five different temporary moratoriums on solar, all of which still await approval from the state attorney general’s office.
One of those moratoriums has also been filed as a bill by legislators Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, and Sen. Paul Mark, D-Peru.
Rocque said she is “conflicted” over the issue of large-scale solar, believing in both clean energy and the need to steward lands for conservation. Strom said the solar issue is the main reason he decided to enter the race.
Deb Rocque
Rocque emphasized how important it is for the town to plan for the future, which is part of the reason she’d like to continue serving on the Select Board for another term.
“The long run is what made me come back — whether talking about solar, the highway department or taxes,” she said. “We’re jumping from issue to issue without any real long-term plan.”
On the topic of solar, she appreciates the state’s ambitions for clean energy, but notes that the government should not promote development on lands set aside for conservation.
Rocque said it is important for legislators and state officials to recognize that solar policies are having a “disproportionate impact” on western Massachusetts communities, and she sees the need to bring the concerns of Worthington residents to the attention of people in Boston.
Rocque believes that if the town had a long-term perspective, the solar issue could have been prevented in the past, and that her work will be to pursue unity in town over the issue.
In Rocque’s view, other challenges include coping with higher taxes and less state or federal funding. She also wants to see more opportunities for people to do things in town, like dining.
One accomplishment she touted in her first year on the board that has prepared the town for the future has been hiring Rheal Labrie as highway director. She said that he is young and innovative and will be a great asset for the town for years to come.
As many town officials and volunteer members age, she said succession needs to be a focus moving forward.
A resident of six years, Rocque grew up in both Storrs, Connecticut, and Stonington, Maine.
Her 25 years of work for the Fish and Wildlife Service brought her to the area. Rocque received her doctorate from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and became assistant director of FWS in 2019 after a decade serving as deputy regional director in the Northeast Region.
Over the course of her career, Rocque has run organizations, balanced budgets, and applied for grants. Now, she co-owns Justamere Tree Farm, alongside her wife and a third owner.
Rocque also expressed gratitude that Strom decided to run, saying that it makes for more robust local conversations.
“I don’t think that it’s good for any community, for democracy, to run unopposed,” she said. “If you don’t have that, there’s a vacuum.”
Steve Strom
Steve Strom’s campaign slogan is that “Worthington is worth preserving,” a statement that summarizes his entire campaign as a write-in candidate.
He favors some changes. He wants to see families come into town and young people enrolling in the elementary school. He is pleased that younger owners have bought and updated several older town institutions, including Listons and the Worthington Country Club.
But he does not want to see the town’s rural ambience messed with as he seeks to preserve the town as “a sanctuary passed onto future generations.”
“Solar power plants is what has stimulated me to get back into local government,” said Strom, who has a history of serving in local government both in Worthington and other towns.
In Worthington, Strom served as tree warden for 25 years, and on both the Shade Tree and Conservation Commission. In the town of Haverhill, where he lived for a number of years, he was on the mayor’s advisory board.
“I would have a problem if the interests of this town became industrial,” he said, after sharing what it was like growing up in a rural community in southern Wisconsin.
He was born in Chicago, but at the age of 10 his family moved to Wisconsin, and “a little bit of paradise entered my life,” said Strom. With lakes, dairy farms and a two-room schoolhouse, he said it was the perfect place to grow up.
He studied biology and played football at Dartmouth College, graduating in 1967 in the middle of the Vietnam War. He volunteered to serve to avoid waiting for the draft lottery, and worked as a nonmilitary psychiatric aide in the Wisconsin State Hospital system.
Strom has been a Worthington resident for a total of 41 years, with a 14-year break. He was introduced to the town in 1975 when his wife came to the area to study art at UMass Amherst. The two stayed in town for the next 25 years, and Strom worked as a self-employed arborist.
Moving to Haverhill, a city a little smaller than Springfield, ultimately allowed Strom to move back to Worthington in 2015. He worked for a tree company as a general manager and saved enough to retire in Worthington.
Strom will hold a “meet the candidate” event on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Worthington Country Club, 113 Ridge Road.
In order to vote for Strom, his name and address, Steven Strom, 46 Old Post Rd., must be written into the ballot.
Other candidates on ballot
The only candidate on the ballot who is not up for reelection is Nicole Shulze, who is vying for a three-year spot on the School Committee. She has been on the School Committee since a seat opened up last year.
In other races, Gary Ouimet seeks three more years as assessor, Diane Brenner seeks three more years on the Board of Health, and Pat Kennedy seeks a five-year stint as cemetery commissioner.
Kate Bavelock is looking for five more years on the Planning Board, and Ron Sampson seeks three more years as constable. Tree Warden Benjamin Brown is up for reelection for a three-year term, as is Moderator Kevin O’Conner.
Randy Zucco and Joseph Boudrea are both seeking the two open, three-year spots on the Finance Committee.
Polling will take place at Town Hall, 160 Huntington Road, from 8:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m.
Annual Town meeting will also take place on Saturday, beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the R.H. Conwell School gym, 147 Huntington Road.
