12 May, 2022
I have known Shahidul Mannan for a number of years and whole heartedly endorse him for our Select Board. As a very engaged citizen of our town, he brings the experience, both from his town engagement and professional expertise to our budget, strategic planning and applied town knowledge. Shahidul adds value to the current board. However, I also want to focus on Shahidul’s lesser known or recognized expertise and strengths that can be a great asset for the board.
Shahidul is a great listener and looks proactively to hear all sides of an issue, making sure everyone’s voice is heard and objectively collects all pertinent information, before moving forward with his opinion on the matter. He passionately believes in building consensus and collaboration, and focus on town interest over anything. He has demonstrated this by working with all parts of the Town and School Administration, Board members of various backgrounds, and helped build a friendly alliance across the board. During his time at Appropriations, he diffused tension between various bodies, and promoted collaboration between school and rest of the town on budget perceptions.
He is passionate about about public service and giving back, and have always demonstrated commitment and giving enough time to all the board related work and activities. At one point, during his tenure, for almost two years, the AC didn’t have enough members, and Shahidul along with other two members of the committee, made sure that all the meeting quorum, timelines are met with appropriate oversight, rounded meetings with all town bodies with almost 100% attendance and overly dedicated engagement. He mentions a story about missing his daughter’s annual orchestra, the night before Town Meeting to reconcile and close on revised budget for the town. This clearly sets the bar for his commitment for the Town work, and I respect that.
As a "recovering CPA" myself, I understand the multifaceted issues in balancing a town budget. We tend to take the Hopkinton balanced Budget as given, not always knowing how much effort goes on behind the scenes to match the numbers while keeping up the service levels with proper funding, in our town's era of tremendous growth. There is so much that goes on; negotiations, creative ideas etc, that results in a minimal tax impact with optimal service support. This is what Shahidul and his AC colleagues silently have done over the last decade while we had been going through the roof with growth in this town.
Please cast your vote for Shahidul.
Enthusiastically,
Connie Wright
25 Amherst Rd
**This article was written by a group or person in the Hopkinton Community and does not reflect the views of HCAM or any of their Board Members or Employees.**
