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Water District Commissioner
John Petersen (https://www.johnspetersen.org/) is the right person for Water District Commissioner. John is considerate, kind, and smart. John is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and also holds a PhD in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley. He will bring new ideas to an old institution that has been in reactive mode to problems for far too long, many of those problems of its own creation. It’s time for change at the Water District, and John Petersen is the Water District Commissioner of the future.
Select Board
First of all, I’d like to thank Jim Snyder-Grant (https://jimforacton.info/), who is stepping off of the Select Board this year, for his years of service. Jim is an excellent communicator; his calm demeanor and ability to compromise served him and his constituents well. I especially enjoyed working with Jim on the Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) (I am an associate (non-voting) member), where he served as Select Board Liason.
Alissa Nicol (https://www.alissaforacton.org/) is one of my picks for Select Board. Alissa has the experience and passion for this job and is running for reelection. Alissa was instrumental in successfully resolving the issue of the Citizens’ Library Trustee governance. She also served on the Habitat For All Working Group and helped enact Acton’s first Traffic Calming Policy. The Acton Boxborough Community Compass (ABCC) presented Alissa with the Mike Tobia Community Leadership Award last year in recognition of her many volunteer contributions to the community, including facilitating a monthly community conversation for the past three years.
Pamela (Pam) Nourse (https://pamnourseforacton.org/) is another of my picks for Select Board. Pam was encouraged by Jim and others to run for Select Board after her recent retirement. Pam not only has a good grasp of what matters to the average Actonian, she also has the leadership skills to help the Select Board act in the best interest of Actonians. I expect to see Pam in a Select Board leadership position in the not-too-distant future.
School Board
By way of background, my wife, Rebecca, and I put five kids (combined) through the AB school system: three went to McCarthy-Towne, two to Conant. Our youngest is now a freshman at UNH. While there are many candidates running for School Committee, only three stand out to me.
My picks for School Committee are Victoria (Tori), Dennis, and Jacob (Jake), the first, second, and fourth candidates listed on the ballot (https://actonma.gov/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=11504).
Victoria (Tori) Campbell (https://www.victoriacampbell.org/) is the current Chair of the School Committee. Not only does she have high school teaching experience and two MEd degrees from Harvard, but she is also an excellent leader, unafraid to make difficult but necessary decisions. The School Committee has had a very difficult year, and she led the School Committee through making the least bad decision regarding the elementary school reorganization. School organization and reorganization is a process, not an event, and Tori has demonstrated that she can navigate this process expertly and fairly.
Dennis Burianek (https://dennisburianek.org/) holds a PhD and MBA from MIT and is the head of the Business Transformation Office at MIT Lincoln Labs. Dennis served on the Acton Boxborough Forward Steering Committee, where his brilliant analytical mind was invaluable. He has four children who have gone through or are currently in AB schools.
Jacob (Jake) Fay (https://jfayp05.github.io/jacobfayschoolcommittee/) is a former middle school teacher and holds an EdD from Harvard. For his dissertation, he focused on education policy, specifically including school closures and reorganizations. He has co-written two books on the complexity of educational decision-making. Plus his website is on Github – how cool is that?!
Tell your pals, and please vote on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 7:00am – 8:00pm, at RJ Grey Jr. High School, 16 Charter Rd, Acton MA 01720 (https://actonma.gov/598/Elections-Voting)!
LEGAL DISCLAIMER & NOTICE: The “Sidewalks For Acton” campaign was started by and is funded by GiantPeople LLC, a single-person LLC founded in 1999 by Erik J. Heels (heels@alum.mit.edu). Erik is a small business owner, a USAF veteran, and has been an Actonian since 1995. Except for a one-year stint from 2024-2025, Erik has never belonged to any political party. Opinions expressed herein are Erik’s individually, not the opinions of any Acton board or committee.
Thanks, Erik! Very helpful.