Candidate profile: Nicki Demakis for Mattapoisett Select Board

May 12, 2021

MATTAPOISETT — Nicki Demakis grew up in Mattapoisett, and after moving from place to place, she said she “always wanted to come back to Mattapoisett” and to give back to the community .

With Select Board Chair Paul Silva opting not to seek reelection, Demakis saw her opportunity to serve the community.

“I think it’s a good time for Mattapoisett to segue,” she said.

Demakis is a partner at a Southern California Law firm, and was spending half her time in California and the other half in Mattapoisett until the pandemic hit.

Now, Demakis is a full time resident, and she telecommutes to the law firm.

Demakis said she would’ve moved back to Mattapoisett sooner, but she met her wife in 2009, keeping her out West a while longer.

“We always knew we wanted to come back,” she said.

Demakis said she thinks her law experience could be helpful for the town, especially in litigation and contract talks.

“People who are laypeople sometimes don’t understand contracts, or sometimes just a legal document — say, from town counsel,” she said. “I think I can help my fellow board members understand something they have a question about, rather than call town counsel and incur legal fees.”

Demakis said she’s looking forward to seeing the results of an ongoing study which will assess the cost of schooling in town, as enrollment in Mattapoisett schools has declined in recent years.

“If you have declining enrollment, but increased costs,” Demakis said, “something’s not right.”

Demakis said she thinks the cost of schooling is “a huge issue for a lot of the taxpayers here.”

“I think the results of that study, really, are going to show the town where the money is being spent,” she said.

Another tax-related issue in town is the proposed $450,000 debt exclusion for road improvements, which recently passed Town Meeting and will be featured on the Town Election ballot.

“That’s a huge issue because taxpayers don’t want to see their taxes go up,” Demakis said.

But, she noted, the cost to the average taxpayer — about $9.65 annually for 15 years — may be worth it “when, in exchange, you get nice roads. Because now they’re pretty bumpy.”

Demakis said she’d also like to see younger families, who may not have enough money to afford a home in Mattapoisett, be able to move to town.

“We have changing demographics,” she said.

Demakis noted that “40B is not low-income housing,” just housing that is affordable for those below the median income — $94,360 according to U.S. Census data — of households in town.

“It’s a fairly affluent community,” Demakis said.

Still, Demakis said she’d rather see developers work with the town on housing projects that would help bring the town to the 10% affordable housing threshold required by the state.

“Keep the money local,” Demakis said. “Put it back into the economy.”

Between her law experience, growing up and living in town and her competitive nature, Demakis thinks sees herself as a good candidate for the Select Board.

“I’ve always come back to Mattapoisett,” she said.