Selectboard candidate running unopposed on platform of ‘keeping Wendell, Wendell’

ADAM FELTMAN

Published: 05-01-2025 11:19 AM

Modified: 05-07-2025 6:57 PM

WENDELL — Adam Feltman has never served on a municipal board or committee. But that will soon change as long as there are no surprises in Monday’s election.

Feltman is running unopposed for the three-year Selectboard seat held by Gillian Budine, who has opted not to seek another term after first being elected in 2020. Polls will be open Monday, May 5, from noon to 8 p.m. at the Town Offices at 9 Morse Village Road.

Feltman, 43, decided in the winter to pursue the soon-to-be vacant seat after community members approached him with the idea, noting that he has “a lot of support from ... the ‘town elders.’”

“My main thing is kind of keeping Wendell, Wendell — just respecting the core values of our little town in the middle of the woods,” the lifelong resident explained. “I don’t want to come in and make any big changes. I’m not running to block a project or try to push a project.”

Feltman attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst and two weeks ago started working as the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District’s facilities manager following 14 years at the Amherst Public Works Department. He said his career in the public sector has prepared him to be an elected public servant.

“I’ve encountered some wild political situations, shall we say, and I feel like I’m equipped to navigate the kind of landmines that come with local government,” he said.

The remaining uncontested races on the ballot are as follows: Ray Stone, three-year term, Board of Assessors; James Frank, three-year term, Board of Assessors; Robert Heller, three-year term, Municipal Light Board; Laurie DiDonato, two-year term, Municipal Light Board; Clifford Dornbusch, one-year term, tree warden; Kathleen Nolan, one-year term, moderator; Sylvia Wetherby, three-year term, cemetery commissioner; Jon Bowers, three-year term, road commissioner; Paula King and Phyllis Lawrence, library trustees; and Karen Idoine, two-year term, library trustee.

There are no candidates on the ballot for a five-year seat on the Planning Board, a three-year seat on the Planning Board, a one-year term on the Municipal Light Board, and two School Committee seats with three-year terms.

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