Meet the candidates for now-uncontested Select Board race

Barring a write-in campaign, this year’s Select Board race is uncontested now that one candidate has dropped from the race.

Mai Luo, one of four candidates nominated at town caucus March 9, dropped out of the race last Friday, citing his concerns about managing the time commitment alongside his job and family.

“Whatever I do, for fun or anything else, I need to give 100%” Luo said. “I feel like I could not make the commitment. It’s a very big responsibility.”

There are three Select Board seats up for grabs this year following the town’s vote in January to expand the board from three members to five. While a candidate could still mount a write-in campaign, Assistant Town Clerk Sharon Simon said no residents pulled nomination papers for the Select Board ahead of the March 27 deadline.

The three other candidates nominated at town caucus are Al Aydelott, Rebecca Mercuri and Anupam Sachdev.

Al Aydelott

Aydelott, 83, has volunteered in Weston government for decades. He has spent 23 years on the Planning Board and 42 years on the Historical Commission. Aydelott works as an architect by day, which he said gives him experience working in both the private and public sectors, something he wants to bring to the Select Board.

“I’ve decided to run for Select Board because the town is looking at some significant and complex challenges that need a holistic approach with respect to experience and an ability to incorporate various conflicting and competitive issues,” he said.

His biggest concern for the town is how large future projects, such as school projects, water tanks and a new fire station, will impact taxes for the residents in town.

“We’re looking at an avalanche of large capital projects that are going to be costly, and the implications of that could be shocking,” he said.

He also pointed to the number of older adults living in town as a demographic that could be better supported through elderly housing.

Rebecca Mercuri

Rebecca Mercuri, 63, is a member of the Traffic and Sidewalk Committee. Her professional career has been in training and compliance across different industries.

“I really enjoy this town,” she said. “In watching how things have happened over the years, I think I have some skills that can help the town operate more efficiently.”

To Mercurci, the biggest issues facing the town are keeping spending under control and future development coming to town.

“Change is inevitable, but we don’t have to fundamentally change Weston because of that change,” she said. “We need to look for ways to have change happen in a way that can preserve as much as possible the reasons why people moved here.”

Mercurci added that she hopes residents will feel more heard with an expanded Select Board.

Anupam Sachdev

Anupam Sachdev, 77, is a longtime Weston resident and CEO of Z Link, a software development company that focuses on facility and infrastructure management. Sachdev said his family moved to town for the school system.

“Both of our kids went through Weston High School, so I am totally familiar with the whole life cycle in Weston from coming here to school,” he said. “Now they’ve gone away, so [I’m also familiar] with the issues related to people who are living as empty nesters.”

He believes the biggest issues facing Weston are 40B housing compliance and balancing the budget in light of large capital projects on the way.

“We should definitely have a smaller capital footprint,” Sachdev said. “We should be focusing on a slow and steady growth of the town …We should maintain the quality of life in our town, rather than being forced into growth and an expanding building footprint.”

He said he believes the town should also be more proactive about reaching the threshold of affordable housing units to protect the town from developer interests.

Election Day is Saturday, May 2. The last day to register to vote is Wednesday, April 22.