Meet Mattapoisett Select Board candidate Eric Beauregard

MATTAPOISETT — After over 20 years of military service, Eric Beauregard wants to bring his leadership experience to the Select Board. 

Beauregard is among six candidates on the ballot for three open seats on the Select Board, one vacated by former chair Tyler Macalister as he runs for Congress and two newly added this year. 

He said his main goals if elected would be affordability, effective leadership and strategic planning for the future.

With many people he spoke to concerned about an increasing cost of living, Beauregard said finding ways to expand the tax base to ease financial pressure on residents is an important solution. 

He said he is firmly opposed to Proposition 2 ½ overrides, and sees increased affordable housing and commercial activity as “a way ahead.” 

“We are fine for next year's budget, but the pressure is building, so you have got to be very thoughtful and responsible for the following fiscal years,” Beauregard said.

In his time in the Army and Rhode Island National Guard, Beauregard said he’s learned how to lead well. As a leader, he said he values being approachable and listening to ideas and concerns. 

While leadership is important to him, he said it’s also important to sometimes be a good follower.

“People have amazing ideas, you just have to be wise enough to listen,” he said. 

He pointed to his experience managing budgets, asking important questions and making tactical decisions as skills he would bring to the Select Board. 

Bad news doesn’t get better with time, he said, so it’s important to address issues promptly and work toward solutions. He said the process of analyzing and solving problems looks the same regardless of the details of the issue. 

“What results in the least amount of risk? Is it acceptable? Is it feasible? And if that's the direction we go, at least we analyzed it,” Beauregard said. “I think it's the same whether it's tactical or it's operational.”

He said he is prepared to learn from other town leaders and conduct research if he is elected, and believes what he lacks in municipal experience he makes up for in practical leadership skills and an eagerness to learn. 

He described himself as driven, and said that military experience wired him to accomplish a task come “hell or high water.”

“After a couple decades of serving, it's just wired into me that if I know a project needs to get done, but it's not funded, or there's more research or study that needs to be done, you find the time to get it done,” Beauregard said.