Jared Fredrickson may be the youngest candidate running for town office — he’s a senior in college, graduating from the UMass Boston with a degree in political science and a minor in public policy — but he is already involved in Wareham’s civic life. 

Fredrickson said he worked on the community effort to oppose the Wareham Park racetrack and casino development project. He said he has also has been active in trying to get the former Decas school utilized as a community center. 

More recently, Fredrickson worked in the town planning department as an intern in the fall of 2023. 

“I think I’ve been pretty interested in this for a long time,” Fredrickson said. “I think government is a really helpful way of making change in communities and in the world, whether that’s right here in Wareham or on some other scale.”

Some of the change he’d like to see in Wareham comes in areas he worked on while interning with the planning department. 

Fredrickson said he supports the town’s plans to redevelop the waterfront area along Merchant’s Way. “I think this is a great riverfront back there, and it’s terribly underutilized.” He also wants the town to return to the Decas community center project. 

In addition to development projects, Fredrickson wants to see the Select Board function more openly. 

The current policy at Select Board meetings limits public comment to items not on the agenda, said Fredrickson. “It makes it a lot more difficult if somebody’s actually interested in a matter in town to talk about it and bring up their concerns to the board.”

Fredrickson said he wants to be open and available to listen to people’s concerns, and to bring a new voice to the Select Board. 

“We need people on the board who are really going to listen to the people of Wareham, listen to our community, and who are going to value public involvement,” he said.