"We adore chaos because we love to produce order"

Welcome back!

It’s that time of year when we starting talking about Town Meeting and the Town Election all day every day. The good news: Town Meeting looks like it’s going to be an exciting one, and we have some restaurant news to mix things up.

Here’s what we have for you:

1. SudburyWeekly.com News Roundup

2. SPS Race for Three-Year Seat Officially Contested

3. Zayith Tapas and Bar Moves Closer to Opening

4. Way-Too-Early Town Meeting Preview

5. Planning Board Seat Remains Unfilled as Election Ballot Develops

Let’s get into it!

SPS Race for Three-Year Seat Officially Contested

By The League of Women Voters of Sudbury

The Town Clerk’s office Friday certified the nomination papers of Jessica McCready, who is running for a three-year seat on the Sudbury School Committee. That race is now officially contested, with two certified candidates, Elizabeth Sues and Jessica McCready, running for the single three-year seat.

Kathleen Bell has also filed her intention to run for the three-year SPS seat but has not yet returned papers.

The Select Board Jan. 24 approved the addition of a second Sudbury School Committee seat to the March 31 Annual Town Election ballot, to fill a two-year term resulting from the resignation of SPS committee member Mary Stephens.

The two seats are separate races because of the difference in term length.

One candidate, Allison Vanderels, has returned papers and is an official candidate for the two-year SPS seat. She is currently unopposed since no one else has pulled papers to run.

To appear on the ballot, prospective candidates must file an intention to run, gather the signatures of at least 50 registered Sudbury voters on a set of nomination papers, return those signatures by the Feb. 10 deadline, and the Town Clerk’s office must certify those signatures. 

There are 14 open positions on this year’s Annual Town Election ballot. Any Sudbury registered voter may run for office. Prospective candidates do not need permission from a board or committee to run.

You can find a complete list of open positions here. You can find information about how to run for office here, and resources to support a run for office here.

The deadline for prospective candidates to file their intention to run is Thursday, Feb. 6. Nomination papers (“signatures”) must be returned by Feb. 10. 

According to the L-S District Clerk, as of 9:31 a.m. on Jan. 31, and the Town Clerk’s office, as of the close of business at noon Jan. 31, the following people have filed their intention to run. An asterisk (*) indicates an official candidate whose name will appear on the ballot.

Select Board – contested race
(2 seats, 3 years)
Radha Gargeya*
Lisa Kouchakdjian*
Kevin Matthews*

Board of Assessors
(1 seat, 3 years)
Trevor Haydon

Goodnow Library Trustees
(2 seats, 3 years)
Jill Caseria*
Katina Fontes

Board of Health
(1 seat, 3 years)
Carol Bradford*

Park and Recreation Commission
(2 seats, 3 years)
William Granger Atkeson
Mara Huston*

Planning Board
(2 seats, 3 years)
Anuraj Shah

Sudbury School Committee
(1 seat, 3 years)
Kathleen Bell
Elizabeth Sues*
Jessica McCready*

Sudbury School Committee
(1 seat, 2 years)
Allison Vanderels*

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee
(2 seats, 3 years)
Lee Hannauer Gross
Valerie Friedholm
John Ryan, Jr.*

Zayith Tapas and Bar Moves Closer to Opening - Targets February

By Kevin LaHaise

A new tapas restaurant is coming to Sudbury. Sudbury Weekly reported on that back in July of 2024. On Monday, the Select Board will decide if it will approve a Common Victualler License for the restaurant. (Page 3)

The packet also indicated that the restaurant has cleared all the requirements of three of the four relevant Town departments, including the Health Department.

On the restaurant’s Facebook page, an administrator of the page indicated that they are planning a February 7 “soft launch” in a comment posted on January 30. So an opening is imminent, assuming all goes well with the remaining steps in the license and permitting process.

Way-Too-Early Town Meeting Preview

By Kevin LaHaise

The Select Board packet for their February 4 meeting has a list of warrant articles, and copies of said warrant articles, for the board to review and accept. (Page 19)

Plenty could change on the road to Town Meeting, but if the list of articles is any indication - this could be a pretty beefy Town Meeting. There are 58 articles listed, and four citizen petitions. In 2024, Sudbury had 45 articles and one was a citizen petition. In 2023 it was 55 articles including one petition. And in 2022 it was 58 articles with one being a petition. In 2021 the Town had just 36 articles total. So if all the articles were to proceed, the town is looking at one of the lengthier warrants in recent years.

A large number of articles have been assigned to the consent calendar. The Select Board will have the finally say on that, so this is just a draft. But it does indicate a desire to streamline the meeting. Some voters prefer to have more debate on the floor in general, and the Select Board historically has tried to give people the opportunity to debate all the articles that may be controversial, so we expect to she some changes.

There’s a lot happening in these articles - from revolving funds for electric vehicle chargers and the Fairbank Community Center, to fire engine and ambulance replacements. Two school roofs are on the list, and additional funds for the Atkinson Pool renovation.

Last year Town Meeting authorized the acquisition of two MBTA buildings along the Mass Central Rail Trail. However, this year a new article would seek an appropriation to fund an acquisition. It seems like it may be an early draft, and the report mentions that negotiations are ongoing.

There are enough bylaw update articles to put a fussy baby to sleep, but the notable ones are probably the bylaw update for accessory dwelling units and an article to adopt the Opt‐In Specialized Stretch Energy Code.

One of the citizen petitions calls for cutting the Community Preservation Act (CPA) surcharge and another calls for more funding for walkways because, among other reasons, the CPA can’t be used for sidewalks. That one would also authorize the Select Board to use eminent domain for land or easements.

Take caution in reviewing the articles. Much could change between now and Annual Town Meeting. But if this list is any indication - it’s going to be a Town Meeting you don’t want to miss.

Planning Board Seat Remains Unfilled as Election Ballot Develops

By The League of Women Voters of Sudbury

With less than a week left for people to sign up to run in the March 31 Annual Town Election, there remains only one potential candidate for the two available seats on the Planning Board.  Two races, for Select Board and a Sudbury School Committee seat, are now contested. People have declared their intention to run for all other positions on the ballot.  

Anuraj Shah, a current member of the Planning Board, has filed his intention (“pulled papers”) to run.  The other incumbent whose term expires this year, Justin Finnicum, has not pulled papers, nor has any other person.  

At this point, both the Select Board and the three-year Sudbury School Committee seat races are contested.

The Select Board race has three official candidates for the two available seats:  Radha Gargeya, Lisa Kouchakdjian, and Kevin Matthews.

For the one three-year seat on the Sudbury School Committee, Elizabeth Sues and Jessica McCready are now official candidates.  Kathleen Bell has also pulled papers for that seat but has not returned them.

A separate race will be held for the one two-year seat on the Sudbury School Committee, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of Mary Stephens.  To date, only one person, Allison Vanderels, has indicated an intention to run for that seat, and she is an official candidate.

The two Sudbury School Committee seats are separate races because of the difference in term length.

Three people have also pulled papers for the two seats on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee. John Ryan, Jr., is an official candidate.  Lee Hannauer Gross and Valerie Friedholm have not yet returned papers.  If all three return their papers and the Town Clerk certifies the signatures, that will be a contested race.  

One person has pulled papers so far for each of  the six other positions on the ballot.  Not all of those people have returned their papers to become official candidates.  See the list below.

The deadline for prospective candidates to file their intention to run is Thursday, Feb. 6. Nomination papers (“signatures”) must be returned by Feb. 10.  To appear on the ballot, prospective candidates must file an intention, gather the signatures of at least 50 registered Sudbury voters, and return those signatures by the Feb. 10 deadline. The Town Clerk’s office must certify those signatures, at which point the person is an official candidate whose name will be on the ballot. 

According to the Town Clerk’s office, as of noon Jan. 31, the following people have filed their intention to run. An asterisk (*) indicates an official candidate whose name will appear on the ballot.

Select Board – contested race
(2 seats, 3 years)
Radha Gargeya*
Lisa Kouchakdjian*
Kevin Matthews*

Board of Assessors
(1 seat, 3 years)
Trevor Haydon

Goodnow Library Trustees
(2 seats, 3 years)
Jill Caseria*
Katina Fontes

Board of Health
(1 seat, 3 years)
Carol Bradford*

Park and Recreation Commission
(2 seats, 3 years)
William Granger Atkeson
Mara Huston*

Planning Board
(2 seats, 3 years)
Anuraj Shah

Sudbury School Committee
(1 seat, 3 years)
Kathleen Bell
Elizabeth Sues*
Jessica McCready*

Sudbury School Committee
(1 seat, 2 years)
Allison Vanderels*

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee
(2 seats, 3 years)
Lee Hannauer Gross
Valerie Friedholm
John Ryan, Jr.*

Parting Thoughts

It’s a late edition this week. Thanks for your forgiveness if this one caused a notification to go off when you were trying to sleep.

We have some exciting stuff in store for the next few weeks - including some larger feature stories and some interviews. Stay tuned!

Onward!