A Carver Selectman with more than two decades of government experience is back on the Nov. 6 ballot with Sarah Hewins (D-Carver) challenging the 2nd Plymouth District’s incumbent representative.

Hewins, who has had long tenures as her town’s former Conservation Agent and previous Planning Board member, said many factors played into her decision to run. However, one stands above them all.

“I have been involved on the ground locally for twenty years and seen the effects of traffic, education funding and the opioid crisis first hand,” said Hewins. “I realized that a lot of these issues can’t be solved locally…This campaign is about the residents of this district – they deserve to have a voice.”

Hewins, who has a doctorate in sociology from Princeton University, moved to Carver 26 years ago. For the past 25 years, she and her husband Steve Dewhurst have run a small computer software consulting company. Their son David is currently a graduate student studying mathematics.

She became interested in local politics after attending her first Town Meeting. Acting as a citizen legislator energized her, she said. She served as a Planning Board member from 1998 to 2008, learning the nuances of local regulations. From 1999 to 2014 she served as Carver’s conservation agent and became immersed in a range of environmental issues. Currently, she’s in her third term as a Selectman.

After more than 20 years working locally, Hewins said there are larger issues she wants to tackle and the best way to do that is at the state level.

Among those issues is the opioid crisis, which she’s help address as the founder of the Young People’s Alliance of Carver Inc. The nonprofit, after-school youth program is aimed at preventing drug abuse.

Hewins said that a grassroots, youth-centered approach is something the state should emulate.

“We need to have more state funds and grant money for programs that focus on drug- and substance-abuse prevention for our youth,” said Hewins. “Prevention is key.”

Regarding Wareham’s long battle to classify mobile homes as affordable housing, Hewins said it’s time for officials to take a different approach. Officials have lobbied unsuccessfully since 2013 to have mobile homes counted as affordable. Doing so would meet a state requirement and force restrictions on affordable housing developers looking to build locally.

In the past, Wareham officials have asked that all mobile homes be counted as affordable. Hewins said it’s time to request that some mobile homes, not all, be counted as affordable.

“I think it would be helpful to ask for a lower percentage,” said Hewins. “I certainly agree mobile homes should be counted as affordable housing. There’s something wrong with 40B that removes all local regulations and local rules.”

The environment is another issue she said she’s focused on. Hewins has secured more than $2 million grant funds for preservation and worked to preserve more than 600 acres of land from development.

If elected, Hewins anticipates pushing to have the state’s education and local aid funding formulas reworked, which would bring in more state funds to the district.

“Education, the opioid crisis, clean drinking water and other issues affect all of us,” said Hewins. “We need someone in office who will listen to voters’ needs and speak to what needs changing.”