Gottlieb to Run for Reelection to Mashpee Board

Andrew Gottlieb

MASHPEE – The chairman of the Mashpee Board of Selectmen will seek re-election in May.

Andrew Gottlieb, who also serves as the executive director of the environmental non-profit, Association to Preserve Cape Cod, is looking to serve on the board for a third consecutive term.

“I really love serving the people of Mashpee and I’m proud to be a member of the board of selectmen,” Gottlieb said.

The water quality advocate said he has worked hard on the wastewater issue for a large part of his adult life and that the board has brought the issue to voters from an educational perspective over the last few years.

“We are on the cusp of really making progress on getting our program up, designed and ready to go to construction,” he said. “And I want to see that through.”

Gottlieb said the town is making gains in water quality through its investment in aquaculture.

He believes the largest momentum towards improving water quality has been made over the last year.

“We’ve really brought the issue to our electorate through a series of regular special meetings where we have been able to address a lot of the questions and concerns people had about the wastewater program and have seen a real move from the general public, and reflected in the unanimous vote from the board of selectmen, to put the issue finally before our voters, and give the Town of Mashpee voters the first time ever a chance to begin funding the infrastructure program we so dearly need,” Gottlieb said.

He also praised the work of a group of residents, the Mashpee Clean Waters Group, who self-organized, to educate themselves and provide an independent source of information for the public.

“Now the conversation has shifted to not if we are going to do something, but what exactly we are going to do and how to do it in a way that is most affordable for the community,” Gottlieb said.

Gottlieb said the town has also recently improved its financial standing.

“We’ve built our free cash balances during my time on the board,” he said. “We made ourselves stronger by building strong reserves and I want to try to help continue to guide the town through this important period of transition.”

Gottlieb said big questions remain regarding affordable and workforce housing and the future of Mashpee Commons.

“I think having somebody with a strong financial background, a strong understanding of how town government functions, a strong environmental ethic that I carry forward would be important to have on the board during that important conversation,” he said.

Gottlieb believes town residents have come to the conclusion that the price and scarcity of housing is a long-term drag on the viability of the community.

“The town will develop,” he said. “The question that we all have a chance to influence is how do we develop and where do we develop, and can we do it in a way that breaks the pattern of sprawl that we have seen consume the Cape over the last few decades.”

Gottlieb would like to see a move towards concentrated development that provides more livable, walkable communities and village-based centers.

“[They need to be] reliant on the necessary infrastructure that we have to build that also provides enough density that you can get affordability in the marketplace as opposed to relying on public subsidies to provide the affordability,” he said. “We have not been able to subsidize our way out of the housing crisis we see right now.”

Gottlieb said he hopes Mashpee residents will continue to engage in the affairs of the community and that he hopes to continue to be a part of it.