SHREWSBURY, Massachusetts – Just when you thought we’d gotten through the elections season of 2010, it’s time to start ramping up for election 2011 in May.  There will be several positions up for election, including two School Committee seats currently held by my colleagues Mark Murray and Sandy Fryc, two seats on the Board of Selectman, currently held by Ben Tartaglia and Moe Depaulo, a Housing Authority seat current held by Richard Ricker, and a host of town meeting member slots.

Thus far none of the incumbents have signaled an intention to run for re-election, but it’s way to early to expect that most have even made that decision yet, much less announced their candidacy.   I am happy to report that we do have our first challenger in the race stepping forward, as Mr. Henry Fitzgerald has announced he will be a candidate for the Board of Selectmen.   Henry has a long track record of service to the community, and currently serves as chair of the Sherwood Building School Committee, a role he has served with the building of SHS, Oak Middle School and Floral.   In that capacity, I know I’ve personally always found him to be an experienced, level headed professional, and he’s done just a fantastic job for the children, and for that matter for all of the tax payers of Shrewsbury. It’s always fantastic to see people of high caliper willing to step up and serve the  community, and we anxiously look forward to covering the race as it shapes up in the coming months.

His official campaign announcement is shown below.

——————————————————————-

Henry Fitzgerald, 17 Hutchins Street, Shrewsbury, announces his intention to seek a position on the Board of Selectmen in the upcoming May 2011 Town elections.

Mr. Fitzgerald has been a resident of Shrewsbury since 1977, is an experienced business leader and committed resident who has served the Town of Shrewsbury in a number of positions and capacities. He believes that his proven leadership abilities and experience are critical characteristics needed for this position and that he will bring a factual and rational approach to the critical decisions that are expected to face our community over the next three years.

Mr. Fitzgerald most recently completed a 27 year career as VP of Operations at Genzyme Corporation. In that capacity he was responsible for worldwide capital projects, engineering, real estate & planning, health & safety, and environmental services.  He ran a department of over 200 employees, an annual capital budget of over $600M, an expense budget of $120M, and worked closely with many municipal governmental organizations.

A strong supporter of local business ventures, Mr. Fitzgerald was a Director in the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce from 2006-2009 and was given the “Business Man of the Year” award for 2010 by that Chamber.

Mr. Fitzgerald has a strong history of local involvement and volunteerism. He has been an elected Town Meeting Member from Precinct 6 from 1985 to present. Henry has also served on the School Building Committee for the past 16 years and is proud of the three projects brought to completion during that period including the Floral Street School, Shrewsbury Sr. High School, and Oak Middle School.  A fourth project, the Sherwood Ave Middle School is currently in process with ground breaking to occur this spring.  For his continued support and leadership, Mr. Fitzgerald was given the “Friend of Education” award by the Shrewsbury School Committee in 2003.

Mr. Fitzgerald was a long time coach in Shrewsbury Youth Soccer and served in many capacities on their Board of Directors including President from 1992-1994.

Mr. Fitzgerald holds a degree in Engineering from WPI.  He is married to Dr. Jean M. Fitzgerald, who is the Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Watertown, MA.