MONTAGUE — Marina Goldman is running a write-in campaign for a three-year seat on the Selectboard, having declared her candidacy on May 2 in a race against ballot candidates Christopher Boutwell and Edward Voudren.

Goldman, 68, is an organizer with the grassroots political group Montague Resists. She explained that organizing local protests, working with Montague town officials and support from her peers in Montague Resists led her to begin a write-in campaign.

“My strengths are in problem solving and relationship building. I will focus on augmenting the already capable leadership in Montague,” Goldman said. “I am skilled at leveraging the many relationships that I already have with local businesses, community services and state government to find solutions to our challenges.”

This is the first time Goldman has run for an elected position. She’s a retired nurse practitioner who worked in positions across Franklin County for 30 years. She is running against Boutwell, the incumbent, and Voudren, who formerly served on the Selectboard. This is the only contested race in the Tuesday, May 20 town election. Goldman plans to have stickers and information at each of the voting locations for voters to write in her name and address.

To effect change in a community, Goldman said being in a position like the Selectboard is the place she can do that. If elected, Goldman said she wants to continue progress on redeveloping the former Farren Care Center site by advocating for affordable housing, and looking at opportunities to increase housing for seniors who she works with as a volunteer with Montague Villages.

“I’m listening to people and finding out what is important, and affordable housing is something that is very important to people,” she said. “I want to listen to what people want. I’m not afraid to pick up the phone and say, ‘How can I help?’”

The other two candidates for Selectboard were part of a candidate forum on April 27, where they had the chance to answer questions about their background as public officials and discuss topics relevant to Montague, such as schools, policing and infrastructure.

Voudren was a Selectboard member from 1997 to 2004, served with the Montague Police Department and Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, and was the special education transportation director for Greenfield’s public schools. Voudren said one of the things that inspired him to run for Selectboard again comes from the recent elimination of grants by the federal government, noting he feels he can bring perspective on dealing with the possible scenarios of lost federal funds.

Boutwell said he’s served for 30 years on the Veterans Memorial Committee, was chair of the Franklin County Solid Waste Management District’s board of representatives, and served on the Montague Board of Health for 24 years. Boutwell is seeking a sixth term on the Selectboard, noting that he’s “kind of been through … just about anything that comes down the pike in town, truthfully.”

When asked about Goldman’s run for the Selectboard, Boutwell expressed his concern for what he described as “the lack of experience” in public office, and the timing in which she declared her candidacy, just over two weeks before the election. Voudren took another approach, saying it may help split the vote with three candidates running for the Selectboard seat.

Polls will be open on Tuesday, May 20, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with voting locations at the Montague Center Fire Station at 28 Old Sunderland Road for Precinct 1, Franklin County Technical School at 82 Industrial Blvd. for Precincts 2, 3, 4 and 6, and the Gill-Montague Senior Center at 62 Fifth St. for Precinct 5.

Erin-Leigh Hoffman can be reached at ehoffman@recorder.com or 413-930-4231.