Gun Ban Draws Political Newcomer to Selectmen's Race

For the past few local elections, Westford has not seen any contested races for the Board of Selectmen. But this time, voters will see a candidate who didn’t even live in town at this time last year.

Since it was introduced several weeks ago, Article 30 on the Town Meeting warrant has sparked a strong reaction among gun rights advocates, and one of those advocates is Steven Sadowski, a newcomer to Westford and politics in general who felt the need to enter this year’s Selectmen’s race due to the issue.

In May 2012, Sadowski moved with his wife to Westford from Hanson, Massachusetts following a job she got with Welch’s in Concord.

The pair were looking around the area and looked at communities like Lexington and Concord, but were scared off by things like the plastic water bottle ban, hoping to find a town nearby with strong schools that had less of a micromanaging reputation.

Sadowski thought he had found it in Westford, and didn’t expect to be drawn into politics until the proposed warrant article served as a clarion call.

“I don’t know most people in town from a hole in the wall, but I’d like to think I’m meeting a lot of people and learning more about the town because of this,” he said. “Right now, I’d like to think if you’re looking for fresh ideas, you can’t get any fresher.”

He defines himself as a libertarian, and while Article 30 is his main issue, as a math teacher, Sadowski also hopes to work to maintain the strong reputation of Westford’s schools without raising taxes or fees.

“If the money we are spending per student is not getting to the student, the answer is not more money, the answer is getting that money that we spend, which is a lot, to the student,” he said.

Sadowski also indicated that despite his firm stance on Second Amendment issues, he hopes to work with Town Manager Jodi Ross, and other selectmen, even Article 30 architect Selectman Bob Jeffries, who is also up for reelection for one of the two expiring seats on the board.

“There’s certain things I will not bend on,” he said. “There are other areas that I can work on. I’m not a rigid person, libertarians try to take the best of both worlds and I’m not a rigid ideologue, but the Second Amendment is not one of those areas where I can bend.”  

More information on Sadowski’s campaign is available on his campaign’s Facebook page.