To the editor:
My name is Joe Nudell and I’m running for a one-year seat on the Hardwick Select Board.
I grew up here and I’m running first and foremost to serve and give back to the community that raised me. I currently serve the town on the Conservation Commission, as the liaison between the Trails and Recreation committees, and I am eager to contribute in more and broader ways. I’ll bring to the board nearly a decade of professional experience in public policy and data analysis, building tools that help local governments make fairer and better-informed decisions.
When I graduated from Hazen in 2007, like a lot of our young people, I moved away for opportunities elsewhere. I’m thankful for how that time away shaped my perspective and showed me what makes life in rural Vermont unique versus what we have in common nationally and globally. Still, I found it difficult to fully throw myself into life elsewhere: my heart stayed here in Hardwick.
As they say, there’s no place like home. But coming back these days is harder than just clicking your heels. Housing costs are high, groceries are expensive. Jobs are few and don’t pay enough. Healthcare is hard to access and is some of the most expensive in the country.
Hardwick is an incredible community full of passionate, dedicated people who have worked hard to make it so. We are on a great trajectory with economic opportunities like the Yellow Barn and community investments like the beautifully expanded library. At the same time we’re facing some tough questions: How do we keep preparing for future floods, but make sure we’re still building more than we’re tearing down? How do we get costs and property taxes under control but still provide the services and amenities we need? How do we steward the town so that younger generations not only want to build a life here, but actually can?
I don’t promise to know all the answers today, but I do promise to do the homework, listen to all sides, and make fair and reasonable decisions to benefit us all.
Thank you for your time and support,
Joe Nudell
Hardwick
