Sarah is a doer, not a talker...

...so you may not know that she:

  1. For over 25 years has kept every single promise she's made to voters.
  2. Represents Carver and Plympton as a Director on the South Shore Community Action Council where she supports the food distribution, early childhood education, financial literacy, and energy conservation programs.
  3. Has run the toddler story hour at the Library for 25 years.
  4. Has continued to run the toddler story hour during the pandemic with Zoom.
  5. Started and chairs the Carver Trail and Conservation Stewards committee that is working to reopen recreational trails in Carver's preserved open space to provide more recreational opportunities to residents.
  6. Coordinated with residents of Wenham Shores and the state Department of Fish and Game to protect two properties on Wenham Pond from inappropriate development and preserve it for the residents.
  7. Worked with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to honor the memory of Carver's own Bob "Grumpy" Conway--veteran, conservationist, bog foreman, and Conservation Commission member--by naming the perennial stream he discovered on the Cole Property "Grumpys Brook."
  8. Wrote a CPA grant application to reduce the cost to residents of the new elementary school by $2,000,000.
  9. Supported "payment in lieu of taxes" (PILOT) programs to ensure that residents' taxes would not be raised to cover depreciation of business infrastructure.
  10. Built Carver's first community playground.
  11. Started and directed YPAC, a youth center for Carver's young adults that provided a safe, supervised after-school environment where they could learn self-esteem with the goal of drug- and substance-abuse prevention.
  12. Preserved 600 acres of land in Carver for recreation, sportsmen, to keep our taxes low, and to protect our drinking water.
  13. Got Carver more than $4,500,000 in grants.
  14. Cut costs for streetlights, electricity, curbside trash pickup, and water rates for seniors.
  15. Had a 100% success rate approving new businesses...properly!
  16. Has worked with our emergency management departments to write the Town's Emergency Management plans so we can receive state aid and grants.
  17. Was on the team that wrote the Town's first Master Plan in 25 years so that we can receive state aid and grants.
  18. Was on the team that wrote the Town's Open Space and Recreation Plan so that we can receive state aid and grants.
  19. Established rules for affordable housing that respect all residents.
  20. Established rules for conservation subdivisions that save land, increase residents' home values, and save developers money.
  21. Advocated for the Town to establish a resident-focussed website for governmental transparency. When the cost to the taxpayer was considered to be too high, she donated the time and expertise of her small business to develop and maintain the website for free.
  22. Represented Carver and served as Chair of the 11-town Plymouth / Carver Aquifer Advisory Committee.
  23. Represented Carver as a Commissioner on the Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District.
  24. Represented Carver on the A. D. Makepeace Task Force.
  25. Worked to pass the Community Preservation Act that has since funded many of the Town's recreational needs, including upgrades to the ballfields.
  26. Made sure that the CPA was affordable to residents by including a $100,000 property valuation reduction on the surcharge, and providing low-income and senior exemptions.
  27. Member of team that built the Purchase Street recreational fields.
  28. Worked with the director of Carver's DPW to get federal and state funding for the sidewalk installation on Route 58/Main Street.
  29. Got grants to purchase the 200-acre Cole Property to prevent inappropriate, tax-negative development and preserved it for recreation, sportsmen, and to protect our drinking water.
  30. Was part of the team that dry-picked the town cranberry bogs on the Cole Property.
  31. Saved conservation land next to Savery Avenue from inappropriate, tax-negative development and preserved it for recreation.
  32. Partnered with the Carver Police Department and Pine Tree Village board to enhance public safety in the Village.
  33. Donated her expertise in conservation and knowlege of state agencies and regulations to assist South Meadow Village in addressing their water issues.
  34. Have we mentioned that for over 25 years, Sarah has kept every single promise she's made to voters no matter what?

In More Detail...

Her Proven Ability to Get Things Done: In 25 years as a public servant, Sarah has delivered on every single one of the promises she made to voters. Sarah knows how to reach across the aisle, get to agreement, form effective teams and partnerships, and actually get real things done for her constituents. She is known for her win-win-win solutions to problems that respect businesses, residents, and our environment.

Our Finances: As an elected official, Sarah has a 20-year record of success in not only "holding the line" on taxes through smart growth, land preservation, etc., but also in actually saving residents money on the bills they pay every month while working to maintain services and delivering balanced budget after balanced budget. She has obtained more than $4,000,000 in grants to keep 600 acres of land out of tax-negative development and to preserve it for habitat protection, recreation, and ground water protection. She obtained a Community Preservation Act (CPA) grant for athletic fields for the new elementary school, saving taxpayers another $2,000,000. She reduced the cost of street lights by 34%, curbside trash collection and voluntary recycling by 50%, cut the town's electricity bill by 11%, and lowered water rates for seniors in their manufactured home community.

Our Environment: She has worked to ensure that we maintain our environment for ourselves and for our future, preserving hundreds of acres of land from tax-negative development and ensuring that our drinking water and aquifer are protected.

Our Children: At the same time, she has worked to ensure that our children and young adults have the education and opportunity to make smart life choices and that they enjoy learning. She and the rest of the Select Board members also found ways to lower the cost of a much-needed new elementary school so it was affordable to the residents.

Our Public Safety: She has lead the way in ensuring public safety by partnering with Emergency Management in disaster preparedness exercises and planning, and by co-authoring the Hazard Mitigation Plan required for state and federal emergency assistance. She has worked to connect our young people and their parents with our Police, Fire, and EMS departments both through her Story Hour at the Public Library and as former volunteer YPAC Board member, volunteer Interim Executive Director, and Volunteer Executive Director.

Governmental Transparency: One of her campaign promises was to increase the transparency of town government. She advocated for the Town to establish a resident-focussed website for governmental transparency. When the cost to the taxpayer was considered to be too high, she donated the time and expertise of her small business to develop and maintain the website for free.

Her Technical Knowledge: She used her experience in land use, conservation, grant-writing, research, and business to spearhead the Town's first Master Plan in 25 years, to lead the team that brought the Town's Open Space and Recreation Plan up to date, and to co-author the Hazard Mitigation Plan.