News

Well-known hopefuls vie for selectman's seat

By Mike Stucka
Staff Writer
Published: August 28, 2008

TOPSFIELD — It's sure to be a strange election when each candidate, unprompted, praises the political opponent. Yet such is the case in Topsfield, where longtime residents and prominent political figures Karen Dow and Eldon Goodhue became the only candidates on the Nov. 4 selectmen's ballot when it closed last night.

"This will not be a bitter debate," Goodhue said. Dow said voters would win when either candidate was elected.

Neither Dow nor Goodhue is driven by any burning issues, with each saying they want to bring their experience and judgment to the Board of Selectmen.

Dow, 48, is a 17-year resident who hopes to levy her nine years as a library trustee and six years on the town's elementary school committee — five of them as chairwoman — into broader help for the town.

"I've been active in the town government sorts of things for a long time, so I feel like I know some things that would be helpful to know," she said.

Goodhue cites a similar motivation.

"I'd like to serve the town and give back a little bit of what I've taken in for the last 35, 36 years," he said. "I would like to be a selectman so I can take some of my background and apply it and help the citizens."

Goodhue, 65, is an attorney with a law degree and bachelor's degrees from Suffolk University. He is a personal injury attorney in Topsfield, while his wife, Susan, has a psychotherapy practice in town. He has four grown children and six grandchildren. He has been an assessor for eight years and has donated his time with some appellate tax board cases.

"It's saved the town a lot of money," he said. "I think I've tried the town six cases, and we've been pretty lucky on all of them."

Goodhue says he wants to help keep the town running efficiently.

"In general I'd like to keep the services up and the taxes low," he said. "... You want to make sure the citizens are getting a good value for their dollar."

Dow, the wife of Scott and mother of 13-year-old Emily, also said the town has been run efficiently.

"What's become clear to me from being a library trustee and on the School Committee is there can be a mismatch between services and what people are willing to pay for," she said. "So trying to deal with that and work through that is something I'd like to do."