Fliegelman announces select board candidacy

To the editor:

I’m Larry Fliegelman, and I am excited to introduce myself to you all as a candidate for a one-year seat on the Hardwick Select Board.

I want to serve on the select board to help Hardwick maintain momentum, foster positive growth and hold on to what makes us special.

When the moving trucks pulled away from my home in East Hardwick, on June 1, 2011, it wasn’t long before a neighbor showed up with a plate of muffins to welcome my family. For the next eleven years I kept super-busy balancing work as a school principal with being a family man. These last few years, as my kids have grown and my career downshifted, I’ve had more time for Hardwick.

My Hardwick life includes new interests and old passions. I’ve been on stage for a number of Civic Standard productions, and I represented the community when OSSU created a new Portrait of a Graduate in 2023. That same year, I helped run the Neighbor to Neighbor (NtN) Emergency Supply and Support Center, a role I reprised in 2024. Since then, I have stayed active in NtN helping to write an appendix to the town’s Local Emergency Management Plan. Also in 2023, I was appointed to the Hardwick Planning Commission where we’ve worked on modernizing the zoning bylaws. The new by-laws make it easier to increase our housing stock while maintaining the character of our town. The planning commission recently began work on Hardwick’s next seven-year town plan, which will shape the future of our community.

I can continue to serve my community and see this work through on the select board. Hardwick, like so many small towns, is having to make tough decisions about its future. But we have seen incredible growth because of the commitment and grit of our neighbors. I look forward to continuing to give back to my community, from muffins to flood recovery to the select board.

Improving our planning, climate and emergency resiliency, housing affordability/equity, and civic life are the mainstays of the work of the Hardwick Select Board.

On March 3, Town Meeting Day, please vote for me for the Hardwick Select Board.

Larry Fliegelman

East Hardwick

Larry Fliegelman