MATTAPOISETT — Incumbent Michele Bernier is no stranger to the Board of Health, but she is new to campaigning. After writing in her name in the blank candidates spot three years ago and winning the seat, Bernier is now running to stay on the Board.

"I noticed there were no candidates for the Board of Health. So I thought about it and said, 'Well what the hell,'" she said.

Bernier has lived in Mattapoisett since 1987 and from 1996 to 1999 served as the first woman on the Select Board. She took part in closing the Mattapoisett landfill in 1998 after it was leeching into the drinking water. 

"That was kind of a big deal, but I was very much an outsider," she said. "I accomplished several things, and I was happy."

Bernier works as a secretary for her husband's law firm, but has a rich history in education. Graduating from Providence College, she took her first job working for the Advertising Club of Greater Boston. From there she worked in special education, law firms and as Town Administrator in North Attleboro. 

She said she has learned a lot about septic systems during her time on the board — one of the key issues Mattapoisett is facing due to new Title V regulations issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.

"I've learned so much and I've learned about Mattapoisett, the sensitive areas in town and what's important," she said. 

Bernier said that the relationships on the current Board of Health are smooth and she hopes to complete unfinished business. She spoke of a new 40 yard roll-off septic container that the board had asked for to transport and dispose of septic tank waste.

"That hasn't come in yet, so I want to keep pushing away at the terms of our contract to make sure that our new waste haulers are complying with the terms we put in our contract," she said. 

No matter the outcome of the election, Bernier said she still plans on volunteering her time at the Swap Shop — a new initiative where people will be able to bring items they no longer want but could be reused to the transfer station for others to buy — and enjoying the town she fell in love with.

"We owned a sail boat and would sail into Mattapoisett Harbor," she said. "Our house here is the first and only house my husband and I have owned together and now it's our home."