I have followed town government closely for more than three decades as a private citizen, newspaper reporter and editor, and now member of the Council on Aging Board of Directors. I have interviewed, analyzed, and written about more selectmen than I care to remember, many of whom were impressive, highly effective board members. But Lucy Wallace is in a class by herself: she is superbly, uniquely qualified for re-election to the Board of Selectmen this year.
Lucy was first elected to that board in 1998 after serving on the Planning Board, Conservation Commission, and chairing the 1988 Town Plan Committee. She has been involved with town planning for decades, most recently as a member of the Master Plan Steering Committee and the Municipal Buildings Committee. An avid conservationist, she has been a force behind many of Harvard’s most notable conservation acquisitions, and now serves as president of the Nashua River Watershed Association. And as co-chairwoman of the COA Board of Directors this year, she has been a strong, effective advocate for Harvard’s growing senior population.
As a fellow COA board member, I’ve been privileged to watch her collaborative management style up close. She is smart, optimistic, resourceful, persistent, and thoroughly grounded in the workings of town government. She knows how to get things done. At a time when town officials often seem hopelessly mired in partisan wrangling, she represents a time not so long ago, when the Selectmen, in particular, understood that we’re all neighbors—with a shared responsibility for each other and for the town’s future—and behaved accordingly.
Connie Larrabee
Under Pin Hill Road
