By Max Bowen-max.bowen@northstarreporter
Well before he stepped up to serve the community, Mike Lennox was heavily involved in town politics.
Lennox was elected to the Board of Selectmen in 2016, and two years prior, he attended meetings of the selectmen, Finance Committee, and Board of Public Works. He also served as a Town Meeting Representative. He was a selectman—even being appointed to the chairman’s seat—until 2019, when he ran for and was elected to the Town Council.
“To me, this is just the next step in that journey I’ve been on and working for the town,” said Lennox. “I love the town and want to see the very best for the town.”
Earlier this week, Lennox announced his candidacy for State Representative of Bristol County’s 14th District. State Rep. Elizabeth Poirier—who currently holds that seat—has decided not to run for re-election. Fellow Town Councilor Adam Scanlon is also running, as is former Selectman Patrick Reynolds. Catherine Roman also pulled papers, but withdrew when she learned Lennox was running and offered her support to his campaign.
“Mike Lennox has demonstrated a strong commitment to our town and the area by serving as a Selectman and Town Council member,” she wrote to The Reporter. “He has demonstrated himself to be an advocate, supporter and tireless worker for our town and I know that he will bring that same level of advocacy for our area as our State Representative. In addition, he and his wife Beth have been involved in helping with all of the charities that Rep. Poirier supports and that benefit the community and this is the kind of involvement that makes our community so special.”
Lennox spoke highly of Poirier and her work for the district, citing her role in economic development and creating connections to help residents.
“I’ve spent a lot of time with Betty and learned a lot from her,” he said.
Lennox said his time before being elected and serving on the board was an education. In his campaign he knocked on thousands of doors and learned a lot about the issues that residents were concerned with. This included a need for government reform and the pros and cons of the Proposition 2 ½ override. After being elected, he said he saw the full financial situation of the community.
“I have a decade of town experience and understand what’s going on with the town,” he said. “Coupled with my professional experience bringing people together on big projects.”
It’s the local and state politics that have the most impact on the people, said Lennox. Among the issues he wants to focus on is improving the town’s State Aid, which has dropped approximately $1 million over the past few years. He said that making North Attleborough more self-sufficient means the town won’t need to rely on the state as much. Part of achieving this is improving economic development, which would in turn reduce the tax burden placed on North Attleborough’s residents.
“The more services we can provide, that’s the key to success in the future,” he said.
Lennox knows that being State Representative will be a learning curve, but he’s determined to get to work. He’ll seek out those dealing with the same issues as the 14th District and work with them to improve the communities.
“I pride myself on being able to jump into those things,” he said. “I had to learn what’s going on [in North Attleborough], where are we now, how can I continue, and what’s my role.”
