Meet Select Board candidate Judith Whiteside

Though years of teaching and providing the town with guidance on various town boards, Judith Whiteside is running to keep her seat on the Select Board. 

Current chair of the Select Board, Whiteside is seeking another term three-year term citing decades of experience and a focus on guiding the town through ongoing change. Whiteside, who has served multiple terms on the board dating back to the late 1970s, said she is running to provide institutional knowledge to a relatively new board.

“It’s a green board, without a lot of institutional knowledge,” she said. “The hardest thing to learn is what you can and what you can’t do.”

A former banker and teacher at Wareham High School, Whiteside said her background in finance and education has shaped her approach to local government. In total, she estimates more than 30 years of service between the Select Board and Finance Committee.

She pointed to downtown revitalization as a key priority, particularly through her work on the Wareham Redevelopment Authority. As the years have passed she has been witness to the ups and downs to the center of town.

“Redevelopment has done some major things in the past year and a half,” Whiteside said, noting storefront improvement grants and new liquor licenses aimed at attracting businesses.

She said improving Main Street requires both investment and a focus on the town’s existing assets. Remembering back to when the spot shined, Whiteside emphasized the rich historic elements of Wareham that no other town can boast. 

“We have a beautiful river with kayakers and wildlife,” she said. “You take history and you enlarge on it. You don’t jump in and say, ‘I want to make this look like Paris.’”

Whiteside also highlighted efforts to clean up Merchant’s Way and explore ideas like pop-up spaces for local artists as ways to draw more visitors downtown.

Beyond economic development, she said Wareham’s biggest challenge is its perception of itself. Bringing up the negative talk of the town and the development of social media she said there needs to be more positivity on what Wareham does to shine.

“I think Wareham is a town that likes to beat itself up,” Whiteside said.

Despite the negativity, she described the community as supportive and engaged, pointing to local responses to emergencies and community needs.

“This is a really caring community,” she said. “If somebody needs help, people step up.”

Outside of town government, Whiteside said she enjoys reading, gardening and spending time with her grandchildren. She also remains active in community efforts, including organizing the town’s veterans parade.

If reelected, she said she hopes to continue supporting redevelopment efforts while helping newer board members navigate the complexities of local government.