WILBRAHAM — Each May, Wilbraham voters elect residents to vote on their behalf in the town government and on the Hampden-Wilbraham Regional School Committee. In total, 13 people are running for positions on nine boards and committees.
There is one contested seat this year, a three-way race for Planning Board. Incumbent Tracey Plantier is facing Joseph Cantalini and John Patrick McGrath in a bid for the seat. Reminder Publishing reached out to all three candidates but neither Plantier nor McGrath responded by press time.
Cantalini has had experience as a member of municipal boards. He said he previously served on health and safety, and sustainable business practices advisory committees, both part of the Denver Department of Public Health & Environment. Both times, he said, “I was invited as a stakeholder and subject-matter expert in operations and compliance — helping shape policy that balanced safety, trust, practicality and business viability.”
While in Colorado, he also served on more than half a dozen state-level groups that dealt topics ranging from product safety and environmental health to licensing. He said these positions gave him experience in developing “effective, fair and enforceable rules.”
Cantalini said his career as a national compliance and regulatory affairs officer has provided experience in site planning, zoning, permitting, and building and environmental codes — experience which he said is “directly relevant to the Planning Board.” He continued, “I regularly made decisions that required weighing regulatory requirements, community concerns, long-term planning and sustainable business growth. That kind of thoughtful, multi-perspective decision-making is what I would bring to the Planning Board.”
Considering Wilbraham’s path over the next few years, Cantalini said, “Change is inevitable. That includes shifts in age distribution, shrinking developable land, evolving lifestyles and technologies, shifting economic realities and new state mandates. Ignoring these trends risks stagnation or gradual decline.” That said, he said protecting the town’s character. sustainability and infrastructure were “equally critical.”
To balance these priorities, Cantalini said, “We need to weigh the long-term impact of our decisions on residents, neighborhoods, services, and the local economy.” He believes in listening to all parties, determining short- and long-term impacts and collaborating. He said, “If we can preserve what makes Wilbraham special while enhancing its quality of life, vitality, resilience and livability — positioning it to thrive for generations to come — then we’ve done our job well.”
Several incumbents are on the ballot uncontested, including Select Board Chair Susan Bunnell, Roger Roberge II on the Board of Assessors, School Committee member Sean Kennedy, Water Commissioner Rik Alvarez and Peter Manolakis on the Housing Authority.
John Caltabano is looking to fill an empty seat on the Water Commission and Natasha Ayres is running unopposed for Cemetery Commission. Margaret Bagge, Amelia Holstrom and Ronnie Haislip-Hansberry are on the ballot for three library trustee positions. The ballot also features a second Cemetery Commission seat with no candidate.
Polls at Minnechaug Regional High School, 621 Main St. are open on Saturday, May 17, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
