Wellesley Select Board candidates talk business, housing, the arts & more at Chamber event
Wellesley’s three candidates for an open Select Board slot—Odessa Sanchez, Kenny Largess, and Michael Tauer—this week took part in an online Charles River Regional Chamber discussion in which they had a chance to compare and contrast their views on important town matters. Given that the conversation was hosted by the Chamber, the focus leaned toward business, tax rates, economic development, and such.
The discussion lasted about an hour and you can watch the recording via YouTube (we’ve embedded it below as well).
One of the more interesting questions posed was “What’s one attribute of another community that you wish Wellesley had?”
Sanchez pointed to accessibility to more amenities at lower cost, such as public pools, skating rinks, or indoor recreation spaces. She noted that the town’s Recreation Department is focused on making activities as affordable as possible, as not all residents can afford gym memberships or personal trainers. Access to such resources at night would also be desirable for some in the community, Sanchez said.
Largess cited “more mixed use in commercial areas,” and cited Newburyport as an example of a municipality that’s been successful in integrating housing with its downtown area. “I saw that town 30 years ago and it was desolate, and now today it is vibrant and it really helps the businesses there…” Wellesley could look to cities or towns like that, though acknowledged transportation infrastructure would be a factor.
Tauer talked about opportunities to improve communications from town government to residents, “and to continue to create opportunities for people in town to provide feedback to the folks in town government about what’s going on, again all in the interest of help driving consensus and finding compromises so that we can try to find solutions to our challenges that are right for Wellesley based on having as many voices involved in those conversations as possible.”
More on the 2025 Wellesley Town Election:
- Meet the 2025 Wellesley Select Board candidates
- Deadline looms for Wellesley residents seeking Vote by Mail ballots
- List of candidates for Wellesley town election 2025 made public