By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

At Tuesday night’s meet-the-candidate night, sponsored by the Hull Nantasket Chamber of Commerce, the common thread among each of the contenders is their desire to enrich Hull, a community they love and call home. This sentiment was summed up by Jerry Taverna, who is running for the select board: “The engagement this election season is a testament to the energized and passionate people that love this amazing town.”

The Chamber invited all candidates to offer a platform statement to the crowd gathered in the ballroom at the Nantasket Beach Resort, and then time was set aside for attendees to have one-on-one conversations about issues important to them.

The annual town election will be held on Monday, May 15, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Hull High School.

Select Board

Moraiba Reyes said she “fell in love with Hull” in her 20s, moved to town two years ago, and wants to “open lines of communication” to serve the people of Hull. Reyes believes she can make a positive contribution to “create the spaces we want, fix the problems we have, and build for the future.”

 “I am honored and privileged to be on the board the past three years to work hard for a community I love,” said Donna Pursel, who said she is seeking reelection to finish the work started over the past three years.  “I feel like we are halfway right now and there is a lot more work to be done. I want to bring it across the finish line…to create a better community for all.”

“We have to use our creative juices to come up with a plan that works for the town,” said Philip Bellone, a 43-year resident, business owner, and former select board member. “I think [the HRA land] should be commercial recreation oriented…come up with a plan where we can keep most of that space open, productive, self-sustaining, and doesn’t create a tax burden.”

Taverna said he is an advocate for “promoting and maintaining a safe, affordable, and equitable community,” and believes “a comprehensive master plan needs to be prioritized with better communication and collaboration between all of the various boards that are involved in planning and zoning.”

As a trial attorney, Jim Ianiri said he has learned to deal with conflict, get things done, work with people, and stand up for what his principles.  “Economic development, I am all over it. Everyone else should know about Hull, come here to spend money, and help us out,” Ianiri said. “Just needs to be in the right places, not necessarily on HRA land, but we will get to that later.”

As a businessman in town for over two decades and former member of the council on aging, Brian McCarthy said he “fully understands the unique challenges that businesses face in this town… One of the most critical issues this town faces is trying to expand our tax base while keeping the taxes affordable.”

David Gibbons, a 2000 Hull High graduate and current Hull firefighter, said he had written something but he would rather “speak from the heart, not paper. I am passionate about this town,” he said. “I will tell you what I do believe in, the residents in this town and their quality of life. Our quality of life should come first, and I am going to fight for it every day.”

The theme of Jason McCann’s campaign is “listening and working.” An attorney and former member of the planning board, zoning board of appeals, and Community Preservation Committee, he said that if elected he “would ensure any topic discussed by the select board is open to the public, properly noticed, and fully transparent.”

“I love Hull, and I have for 72 years,” said Steven Greenberg. “As wonderful as our town is much more can and should be done to take advantage of our historical and environmental assets to generate more revenue when people come to visit us; this in turn will give us the means to make needed changes to improve quality of life for all our residents.”

Linda Hetue spoke on behalf of her daughter-in-law Kathleen Barclay, who was unable to attend the event. A Hull native, Barclay “knows [the town] backwards and forwards.” She described her as “social, flamboyant, intelligent, opinionated, and persistent.”

Hull Redevelopment Authority

“My number one priority here is I want to know what the people want,” said Adrienne Paquin. “The HRA for the last 50 years has had kind of a one-track mind, housing and commercial… I want to open up our eyes to greater possibilities for the land.”

Daniel Kernan said, “Any of us lucky enough to have a backyard would think long and hard about selling it off for a one-time benefit. This is all our backyards.” Kernan said he wants to find an alternative to selling the property to a developer. “When the HRA sells the property, that the money does not go to the town, it goes to the HRA and they decide how it is spent and on what time line; the funds could be sitting until 20 years from now.”

“I have been volunteering for the town of Hull since 1999 because I care about the people,” said former board of assessors and zoning board member Patrick Finn, who believes the HRA needs to “continue on with the current planning process. I see empty space…It becomes open space when you have people, you have a neighborhood, you have activity. You have economic development, you have tax revenue and you have jobs. All these things we need in this town.”

Board of Library Trustees

Duncan McColgan Stone did not prepare an official speech because he is running unopposed. “Hope more run in the future, or the library may be run by a bunch of 19-year-olds,” he said, making reference to his age.

“Hard act to follow. Young then old,” said James Curtis Miller, a retired middle school teacher, who lives two doors down from the library in the historic Mitchell house. He plans to “serve, promote, and advocate for the library” which he considers “pivotal” for any community.

Celia Nolan was unable to be present and Paula Nesoff read a message on her behalf. She part of the trustees’ relationship is “letting people know about how our library uniquely serves people of all ages and situations …we are the connection between the townspeople and the library administration; we are your voice.”

School Committee

Regan Yakubian, a write-in for school committee, explained she missed the deadline for pulling papers because she wanted to discuss it with her family to be sure she could “give 100%.” But the decision was made one day late, and her choices were to accept a missed dead line or go “all in” and kickstart a write-in campaign. “I stand before you tonight all in, ready to get to work for our schools and the community of Hull,” said Yakubian.

“I have a great track record for making sustainable change for teachers, schools, and systems,” said Fay Ferency, a longtime leader in education, adding she looks forward to “working side by side with you as we share our hopes and dreams for our schools and together make them a reality.”

Ernest Minelli IV is running for his second and final term, in accordance with the two-term pledge he made when he first ran for office. He strives to “work closely with fellow committee members, central office staff, and members of the community so we may serve the four core constituent groups in our town when it comes to the public schools: students, families, educators, and taxpayers.”

Housing Authority

James Richman explained he was hospitalized for 50 days getting outfitted with the LVAD heart pump and he did not miss a meeting, demonstrating his “dedication” to the people of Hull. “I learned how to play well in the sandbox with others and get things done,” said Richman, who is hoping to work with other commissioners on the housing board to get “support for families, persons with disabilities, and elderly, to make it the best community we can make it.”

Some candidates whose names will appear on the ballot did not attend the event, which will be broadcast on Hull Community Television throughout the weekend for voters to review.

“It was a pleasure to see a full room and interest in the election because that is what the process is all about,” said Chamber host James Pitrolo, who is unopposed for another term on the planning board.

Event attendee Liz Kay agreed.

“It takes courage to step out in a small town like this to run for these positions,” she said.