Kusner won't seek re-election

By Scott Merzbach
Staff Writer

Published on December 21, 2007

Rob Kusner, the vice chairman of the Select Board, will not seek re-election for a second term at next April's town elections.

Kusner said Monday that a planned sabbatical from his professorship at the University of Massachusetts to the University of Pennsylvania and the need to care for his father in his native Philadelphia prompted his decision. Kusner expects that he will be spending a lot of time commuting back and forth and would be unable to campaign adequately for re-election

The decision not to pursue re-election was made with considerable pause and regret, said Kusner, who first joined the board in 2005 as an ardent supporter of the Town Meeting form of government. Prior to his election to townwide office, Kusner had been a member of Town Meeting and the Conservation Commission.

Kusner said he conducted affairs of government as best he could and thanked the residents of Amherst, his colleagues, the town manager and Town Hall staff.

In his time on the board, Kusner has been a proponent of public transportation and making life easier for bicycle commuters, preserving open space and farmland, and protecting water resources.

He noted that the board has helped to acquire agricultural preservation restrictions on several large farm parcels in North Amherst and landed a state grant that helped to create the Cushman Brook Wildlife Corridor.

Kusner also helped to spearhead the Community Wireless Project, an economic development tool that he says could put Amherst at the forefront of freely accessible wireless computer networking.

Kusner also has pushed for redevelopment of Brownfields sites, places once used for industry that became contaminated and fell dormant.

Prior to his time on the board, Kusner served on the Public Transportation Committee, helping to design and put in place the Amity Shuttle, as well as weekend bus service, and worked to make the funding of this transportation independent from local property taxes. He also worked with Art Swift on the design and oversight of the bicycle trail system, including the newly named Swift Connector that joins the Norwottuck Rail Trail to UMass.

Kusner is also leading the Norwottuck Rail Trail Advisory Committee, which provided advice to the state's Department of Conservation and Recreation.

The election next April is already bringing out several candidates for Select Board, including Aaron Hayden, Stephanie O'Keeffe, Irv Rhodes and Diana Stein, who have all announced their intention to run. Fellow incumbent Hwei-Ling Greeney has not yet said whether she will seek a second term. "I admire those who are willing to step forward and serve the town," Kusner said.