Monday, May 19, 2025
Polls Open 7:00 AM – 8:00 PM at Hopkinton Middle School
Candidate Statement
Building Hopkinton’s Future—Together
I’m Shahidul Mannan, honored to seek re-election to the Hopkinton Select Board. As your Select Board member for the past 3 years, I have worked tirelessly to ensure smart growth, financial stability, and a thriving community
Experience & Leadership
With over a decade in town governance, my experience includes serving on the Planning Board, Growth Study, Community Preservation, and Appropriation Committee. With an engineering degree, an MBA in finance, and 20+ years of executive leadership in technology and AI, I bring data-driven decision-making to complex challenges.
Key Advocacies
Water & Infrastructure: Led and advocated for the creation of a PFAS Committee to accelerate remediation efforts and establish a Water & Sewer Commission, which has recently begun its work.
Economic Development: Initiated Hopkinton’s first Economic Development hire and am now working to establish an Economic Development Office to drive revenue growth and ease tax burdens.
Support for Seniors: Advocated for expanded senior tax credits and services, with a commitment to advancing further initiatives.
Fiscal Responsibility: Provided strategic guidance to maintain balanced budgets while safeguarding essential town services.
Education & Schools: Championed the new elementary school project, served on the ESBC, and continuously supported Hopkinton’s top-tier school system.
Vision for future
I am seeking re-election to the Hopkinton Select Board to continue fostering a fiscally responsible, sustainable, and inclusive future for our town. While we have made progress in education, infrastructure, economic growth, and public safety, our work is not finished. There is still much to do to ensure everyone can thrive.
Looking ahead, we must shape Hopkinton’s future strategically—enhancing financial stability, sustainable growth, and key services to support our diverse and growing population.
I believe in One Hopkinton—a community built on collaboration, respect, and progress. I ask for your vote on May 19 to keep Hopkinton vibrant, strong, and future-ready.
Shahidul Mannan
Candidate for Re-Election, Hopkinton Select Board
Candidate Statement
I am running for a seat on the Select Board to help guide Hopkinton through the critical changes that lie ahead while preserving the small-town spirit that makes our community so special. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has always been my home—I was born and raised in Dracut, went to college in Worcester, had my first apartment in Waltham, fell in love in Brighton, and started my family right here in Hopkinton. My love for this state and community has driven my deep involvement in town government and my desire to serve in this role.
With 20 years of cross-functional leadership experience managing multi-million-dollar systems and products, I thrive on digging into the details, finding common ground, and creating innovative solutions. I have nearly 10 years of experience in Hopkinton government service, including roles on the Zoning Advisory Committee and 3 years leading the Capital Improvement Committee (CIC). In that time I have worked across committees, councils, and town government staff to develop and fund vital town projects, including:
- Marathon Elementary School
- The town’s first dog park
- The schools’ Turf Fields project
- Key energy initiatives (electrifying the police cruiser fleet and installation of solar panels at several municipal facilities)
Looking ahead, the financial challenges facing our town require strong, experienced leadership. We must take significant steps to support businesses of all sizes, diversify revenue sources, and make critical decisions on major infrastructure investments—including our water supply, roads, and emergency services—while also addressing the rising cost of living for residents of all ages.
It has been my privilege to serve this community for nearly a decade, and I would be honored to continue that service with your support and vote on May 20th. My candidacy is centered on ensuring that Hopkinton makes thoughtful, strategic decisions that will benefit both current and future generations. Together, we can shape a stronger, more sustainable future while preserving the character that makes this town feel like home.
Candidate Statement
Hello, for those of you who don’t know me, I’m Connor B. Degan and I am running for re-election as your Town Clerk. I have had the pleasure of serving two successful terms and I am confident that I will continue to respond to the needs of the position with the same excitement that I did on day one. I grew up here in Hopkinton and have watched the Town grow from a small suburb of Boston into a vibrant and diverse community that gains international attention once a year for the Boston Marathon. It is our opportunity to show the world through culture, civic engagement, and a wonderful business community that we are truly living our marathon motto, “it all starts here!”
As a graduate of Hopkinton High School, I went on to Roger Williams University where I obtained my degree in Political Science. Throughout college, I served as staff for a number of political campaigns before deciding I wanted to pursue public service myself. I proceeded to volunteer in the Hopkinton Clerk’s Office for just shy of a year before my predecessor announced her retirement. It was then that I had the opportunity to run for office and the privilege of being elected to serve as your Town Clerk.
The Town Clerk’s Office has many duties including administration of all elections, issuing certain licenses and permits, preservation of the Town’s historic records, ensuring government transparency as the Records Access Officer, codification of our bylaws and charter, just to name a few. The Clerk is also referred to by many as the unofficial “Face of Town Hall” to encourage civic engagement in the community and educate the next generation on the importance of the same. During my tenure I have supported a local Girl Scout project utilizing a mock election to help students learn about the voting process and cast their votes for a “Buddy Bench” for Hopkins School. I have also worked with scout leaders in Town to educate scouts on the importance of community service. I have enjoyed collaborating with eHop to show groups in the Town how they can support the community, I have successfully implemented large scale early voting and safe in-person voting during a global pandemic, navigated re-precincting the Town in a manner that is fair for all residents, and so much more. Thanks to the shared interest within the community, I have even been able to further my passion for voting rights by testifying on progressive election reform on Beacon Hill and signing a letter of support for the passage of the Democracy Restoration Act in DC, that aims to restore voting rights to ex-convicts who have served their sentence and are still deprived of their rights in many states.
Though 2020 impacted us all, I ended it on a wonderfully positive note by marrying the love of my life at a small private ceremony here in town at St John the Evangelist Parish, where I have been a parishioner since moving to town as a child, and an active volunteer for years. I am excited about the future of Hopkinton. I look forward to growing my family here and to continue to be an active member in the community – both personally and professionally.I am so fortunate to be your elected representative for the past two terms. I humbly request your vote on May 16th so I can have the honor to continue my service to the Town of Hopkinton and to the community that makes it the wonderful place it is.
Candidate Statement
My name is Amna Diwan. We are new residents to the Hopkinton area, moving recently from far away Framingham. I am a practicing physician and now running for a position on the Planning Board.
As someone who has worked on the front lines of healthcare, with a particular focus on serving the underserved through my career, I fully understand the pressures that the increasing needs of housing has put on communities and individuals. Not only does it put pressure on schools, public services (such as healthcare) and neighbors, but it also provides with it a chance for growth, innovation, and a chance to progress in a healthy way for all. Progress and development are inevitable, but I believe the core issue is to be able to maintain our community, our green spaces, the character of our town, and yet at the same time meet the needs of our ever-growing society in a positive way. As someone who works directly on the front lines of care, I believe I am well suited to add a different perspective to the Planning Board, one that focusses on a broader issue of needs as this beautiful town continues to progress over the next years. I have dedicated my life and career thus far in the service to others, and I will continue that in our community. In my free time I love to run, walk around the town with our two greyhounds (one is a rescue from our very own Greyhound Friends), and am an avid gardener. I hope to represent the interests of the good people of Hopkinton from all walks of life and all backgrounds fairly on the Planning Board and believe that with my background I am well suited to do that. I hope to have your support in this election.
Candidate Statement
Hi. I’m Sue Kurys and I’m running for re-election to the Commissioners of Trust Funds. The Commissioners oversee the disbursement of funds from Trusts bequeathed to the Town. Their principal duty is to ensure that the funds are used in accordance with the wishes of Hopkinton’s generous benefactors.
In addition to my experience from serving as a Commissioner over the last three years, my other service to the Town and community makes me well-qualified for this role. I am Chair of the Hopkinton Senior and Disabled Tax Relief. My service on local nonprofit boards has always been about ensuring donations and grants are used to further each organization’s mission.
I’ve held leadership roles in strategic planning, marketing and finance throughout my business career. My education includes an MBA from Stanford with a certificate in Public and Nonprofit Management and additional coursework in fundraising and philanthropy at BU.
I’ve lived in Hopkinton for over 20 years. The Trusts overseen by the Commissioners embody core values of Hopkinton’s past, present and future – education, community and the beauty of our Town. It would be an honor to oversee the use of these funds for the benefit of all residents. I respectfully ask for your vote for Commissioner of Trust Funds on May 16, 2022.
Candidate Statement
My name is Beth Ann Malloy and I am running for the five-year seat on Hopkinton Housing Authority. I have enjoyed the past year and a half serving on the Hopkinton Housing Authority. I would appreciate the opportunity to continue to serve.
I moved to Hopkinton in 1995, joining my husband Mike who bought his first house in town in 1991. We have found Hopkinton to be a very compassionate, safe, and caring community. We have enjoyed both living and working here in town. After our kids were in full day school I went to work for Hopkinton Public Schools for 9 years, working primarily with our intensive needs students. For the past 13 years I have been employed by the Michael Lisnow Respite Center. I work in a place so full of love. It’s amazing. My friends there are family. My husband is a software engineer and has been with Dell/EMC for 28 years. We raised both our children in Hopkinton. Dillon is an auto mechanic in Berlin N.H. He engaged to be married in June. Colleen worked as a paralegal before beginning school at Roger Williams School of Law in R.I.
Our family was very involved in the scout organizations in Hopkinton. I was an Assistant Cub Master for Pack 97. I lead both the girls and boys in our town through scouts. Camp Sunshine in Casco ME is an amazing place where I have volunteered for 12 years. Camp Sunshine provides both respite and fun to children with life threatening illnesses and their families. You leave these experiences with a full heart. My parents taught us there is one thing you can always give, that’s your time.
I spent many years volunteering with Project Just Because, Serenity House, and other local charities. Our family has enjoyed dog rescue by fostering 20 pups, some of whom found homes in town. For the past few years I have been a volunteer at Milford Regional Hospital. As a Compassionate Care Companion we sit with the dying when family goes home to rest. No one dies alone. It’s a pretty outstanding program.
I served on the Affordable Housing Fund Committee for 8 years. I was a Constable in town for a two year term . I have enjoyed serving on the Hopkinton Housing Authority for the past year and a half. I’ve throughly enjoyed getting to know our neighbors and hearing their stories. It would be my honor to continue in this role on the Hopkinton Housing Authority . I look forward to continuing to serve the citizens of Hopkinton.
Candidate Statement
My name is Kyla McSweeney and I am running for a seat on the Select Board.
My husband James and I moved to Hopkinton in 2007 and are raising our children here. Quinn is 14 and in the 8th grade at Hopkinton Middle School, and Sierra is 11 and in the 5th grade at Hopkins.
I am a Director in the State Department of Early Education and Care, where I manage contracts and large grant programs requiring close attention to fiscal and regulatory matters. Formerly I was Director of the Children’s Corner at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. I also have a law degree from Suffolk University and have worked as a public interest attorney.
I have been involved in the town in various capacities in the 16 years I have lived here. I began my service on the Center School Council and then served on the Marathon School Council. I served on the committees in order to support the building of Marathon School and more recently the new Elmwood School. In 2021, I was elected to the Hopkinton Cemetery Commission and served as Secretary, which has familiarized me with the workings of town government. I have also been a Girl Scout leader in town for the past 6 years.
I believe that my fiscal and budgetary experience will be helpful in town budget matters. We have embarked on several ambitious projects in the past years such as the Downtown Corridor Project, a water remediation project, the new Marathon School and now additions to Hopkins and a new Elmwood School. These have tapped our resources, and many residents feel stretched by increasing tax rates. I believe we need to consider our planning with this in mind and think innovatively about how we can increase our revenues outside of raising residential tax rates.
My experience in law and policy has provided me with the ability to listen to different viewpoints and bring people together. Recent events and matters in town have resulted in a division of perspectives. I hope to be able to listen to diverse opinions of Hopkinton citizens and be respectful of the range of perspectives that residents have.
Having served in the role of Director many times and under different circumstances, I have experience attracting and retaining committed and professional employees, and I appreciate the need to do so. I believe we need to continue to seek strategies to attract high caliber candidates, support our town employees, and retain exceptional talent in all areas including public safety.
I feel that our town has much to be proud of including excellent schools, beautiful recreation areas, and a many committed volunteers. I hope to bring my professional experience and history of civic engagement to the Select Board, strengthening our community and applying a fresh perspective to the challenges ahead.
I respectfully ask for your vote on Monday, May 20 at the Middle School.
Candidate Statement
I am Peter M. Mimmo, a lifelong resident of Massachusetts, and I am running for re-election to the open seat on the Hopkinton Board of Assessors. I am excited about the opportunity to continue to serve our community as a member of the Board of Assessors. On this Board, we provide oversight to the professional assessors who work in town hall who assess property values, consider taxpayer applications for abatements and exemptions, and provide data and analysis for setting the Town’s annual tax rate.
I am honored to be a member of this Board. During my term, I am proud that we sponsored Town Meeting articles for additional exemptions for veterans, which passed unanimously. We did our part to help resolve multiple property tax appeals and related litigation involving Eversource. That allowed the Town to free up millions in funds tied up in our overlay account. Moving forward, we will look at the Small Commercial exemption to see whether that may help stimulate commercial growth in our Town. We will continue to grant tax abatements and exemptions.
In Hopkinton, we pride ourselves on the quality of the services from our town in education, public safety and our beautiful parks and diverse recreational opportunities. To maintain these services, it is important to ensure that our property taxes are fair and appropriate, and that our seniors and veterans receive the abatements and exemptions they deserve to help preserve that fairness. As a member of the Board of Assessors, I would continue to do my utmost to work thoughtfully with fellow board members and the skilled professional staff to achieve those goals.
I respectfully ask for your vote on May 19. Thank you.
Candidate Statement
Hi, my name is Susan Porter, and I am running for reelection to the Hopkinton Public Library Board of Trustees. I would appreciate your consideration. My 12 years on the Board have encompassed the planning, financing and construction of our new library, and I’m excited to see the evolution and to help implement all that the town wishes us to be.
After 10 years of being the Chairperson for the Board, I finally left that position, but still intend to offer all that I can to the Board of Trustees and the library.
I am also excited to be involved in the evolution of library offering, including increased e-books and audio offerings, 3D printer, multicultural offerings, conversation circles for ESL, memory cafes, and our “library of things”. The public library is truly the only facility that is open to all ages and is totally free of charge!
Because of the financial and personnel changes to the library and the town, I feel that the Board of Trustees needs to maintain consistency and assist our director, Nanci Hill and the Board look forward to working with her to bring out the best in our library.
I have lived in Hopkinton for 46 years. My husband Michael and I raised our daughter Alexis here, and she now lives in town with her family.
I have always been passionate about libraries. Growing up in Natick, the library was my comfort zone. I was always in awe of all it had to offer. My daughter is as strong a believer in the value of our public library as I am.
Now that legacy of love for books and the library has been passed down to my granddaughters, one of whom has been a library substitute during college breaks. I would like to give back by continuing as a trustee.
I am a graduate of Boston University and worked as a Surgical Intensive Care Nurse at various area hospitals. I retired several years ago from my position as a Health Care Consultant.
I would appreciate your vote in the Town of Hopkinton Annual Election this May.
Thank you,
Susan E. Porter
Candidate Statement
It has been my privilege to have served on the Library Board of Trustees, first as a member appointed by the Select Board on the first public board and several times as an elected official. During those terms I advocated for the library and worked with other board members and directors to establish library policies and assure that the library remains a bastion of free speech and is a welcoming place for all citizens of our community.
For the last several years I have been active in the Friends of the Library, helping to raise funds to cover items and programs that the town does not budget for. I look forward to serving the community as a Trustee once again and ask for your support on election day.
Candidate Statement
I am seeking re-election to the School Committee this May to continue to work on behalf of Hopkinton students, families and staff in providing for the educational well-being of all of our students, while still meeting the fiduciary responsibility we hold to the town. Emerging from the pandemic and in the midst of a youth mental health crisis, our students are experiencing greater social and emotional needs and learning gaps than we have seen in the past. They need leadership and advocacy at the School Committee level and collaboration with our town partners to meet them where they are at right now. I believe my background and record of commitment to the town and schools position me best to provide this leadership.
My Background: I have lived in Hopkinton for nearly 25 years and, along with my husband, Neil, moved here before starting our family. We currently have two children enrolled in the Hopkinton Public Schools, one at the Middle School and one at the High School, and two children who are graduates of Hopkinton High School. I have had the benefit of working with the schools in various volunteer roles across all grades over the years, including as a classroom volunteer, an HPTA (now HPTO) Board member, and a Middle School Council member. I also served on the board of eHop and reported for the Hopkinton Independent for over 10 years, many of which were focussed on covering the schools and the School Committee. The lens of my experiences and engagement with the schools sparked an interest in serving the schools in a greater capacity and I was first elected to the School Committee in 2016 with a commitment that I hold dear today to work on the vast array of issues impacting our schools and our students.
I graduated in 1997 with a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Boston University and I have spent my professional career working in the mental health field. I am a psychiatric emergency services clinician and I conduct emergency mental health evaluations for youth and adults in the emergency room, the community and in my office. I have seen first hand the devastating impact the pandemic has had on youth mental health and I know some of the effects of the pandemic will continue to ripple through our schools for years to come. I have a history of working collaboratively on the School Committee with our state legislators and community organizations to increase programmatic opportunities and grant funding for our students and I believe such collaboration is especially vital to support our students in this increased time of need.
School Committee Tenure: I have served on the School Committee from 2016-2022 and I believe the breadth and depth of my experiences poises me to provide the leadership necessary on the issues facing our District in the coming years. During my tenure on the School Committee, I have served on many subcommittees, including as the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) liaison, the Hopkinton Youth Commission Liaison, the Irvine Todaro Property Advisory Group, and the Turf Field Oversight subcommittee. I have continued to serve for the past 3 years on the Bridge, which I helped establish, a subcommittee aiming to connect social economic needs of students with resources in the community to decrease barriers for students to focus in school. I am the current chair of the School Committee and I am on the negotiating team currently working on bargaining 3 separate union contracts in the District. I also work with the Budget Advisory Group and I am the liaison to the Select Board. Recently, I became the liaison to the English Learner Parent Advisory Council (ELPAC) and I am pleased to be able to work more closely with parents of children who are English language learners. I have not shied away from difficult decisions and complex problems facing our students, and if re-elected, I will commit to continue working on the diverse issues that face the School Committee with the transparency and community engagement that have been hallmarks of my work on the committee.
We know that success for each of our students may look different and even our District’s outstanding state and national rankings don’t tell the whole story. I have shown over my tenure that I am not a one or two issue candidate— I remain committed to diving in with equal passion for the many issues confronting our students and educators today. Here are a couple of issues I want to highlight which will continue to merit attention in the years ahead:
Growth in the District, driven in part by the excellent reputation of our schools, will continue to be a pressing issue for the schools to address, both in terms of our physical plant as well as our operating expenses. Enrollment projections indicate that the Hopkinton Public Schools will welcome an additional 700 students over the next 10 years. The Elementary School Building Committee is currently working with the Massachusetts School Building Authority on feasibility to address the constraints of the Elmwood School. As a School Committee and as a community, we need to look beyond Elmwood to determine how the District can best programmatically and physically meet these needs in a way that the tax payers can afford.
Bullying and bias-related incidents, During the pandemic, we saw an increase, not just on the national landscape, but here in Hopkinton of bullying and bias-related incidents. The divisions we have seen politically have trickled down to our students. The School Committee has been working through a sub-committee this year to update our Bullying Prevention and Intervention Plan— all students need to feel safe in school in order to learn and thrive— but we need to increase collaborative work with the community to help increase the culture of inclusion, regardless of race, religion, economic status, gender identification, sexual orientation, ability, political views or other. Hopkinton is stronger when we work together.
Mental Health– Over the past 2 years, our youth have seen an exacerbation of the mental health crisis. I see this first hand at work, and I hear from too many people here in Hopkinton, that students are experiencing increased anxiety and depression and thoughts of suicide. Isolation of the pandemic, coupled with a decreased availability of higher levels of mental health care, has shifted more of the frontline care of our youth to the schools. The School Committee has added positions such as adjustment counselors and a Director of Social and Emotional Learning to help our students, but we need to continue to press forward and increase collaboration with local resources to ensure we are meeting the needs of our students. Additionally, we need to continue to expand opportunities for students to find their own unique paths to success— through increased support of Career, Vocational, Technical Educational offerings at the High School, extra-curricular programming, and hands on skills. Opportunities for students to feel successful in their own authentic interests supports emotional health.
I look forward to the opportunity to speak with more of you directly during the campaign season ahead and I respectfully ask for your vote for School Committee at the May 16 Annual Town Election.