ROCHESTER — Voters have a choice for Select Board between Brad Morse, the incumbent seeking his seventh term who points to his experience, and Adam Murphy, a newcomer who said he seeks more transparency in government.

Morse, who also spent 12 years on the Planning Board, said he hopes to “keep Rochester moving forward the way we are.”

He wants to see the affordable housing development on routes 58 and 28 established.

He is also watching what happens with the governor’s proposal for more housing in communities on and near Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority  lines, including Rochester.

“I think that’s a major problem for a community like Rochester,” he said. “We can’t support” much added housing, he noted, with infrastructure challenges. Some of the town still depends on septic systems and wells, he noted.

Among the town’s recent accomplishments, he said, is “maintaining the services to the residents” despite fiscal challenges, “and having a firm grasp on the financial end of the town.”

“Our conservative approach has paid off,” he said of the town’s financial planning.

He said he has experience with “looking at all sides of an issue” and “treating everybody fairly.”

The select board is a team effort, he said. “It’s a board of three, never I.”

If elected, Murphy won’t be the first family member to sit on the select board. His father, Michael Murphy, has served on the select board and planning board.

Adam Murphy serves as assistant harbormaster in Marion.

One of the town’s major issues, he said, is the proposed new fire station. “The need is there,” he said, “but the approach to construction needs to take in the long view.”

“It needs to be built for the future, and not just for today,” he said. 

He said the town faces challenges from the recent statewide police reform bill, which brings training requirements for part-time officers to the level needed for full-time police officers.

This could make retaining part-time officers more difficult, he said.

Taxes are another major issue, he said. “We’re taxing, taxing, taxing,” he said. “Residents are on the hook for most everything we do.”

One way to reduce the burden on taxpayers, he said, is to look for grant money and “continuously apply.”

“We have to look beyond the tax base,” he said.