By Geena Monahan
For the North Star Reporter
After serving North Attleborough from 2017-2021 on both the Board of Selectmen and later, the Town Council, lifelong resident Keith Lapointe was ready to shift his focus to his family, swearing off town politics.
“I had been in it for four years and finances had improved drastically. Some people said it was the most impactful four years North Attleborough had experienced in a very long time,” Lapointe said. “I was planning to be done, with no intention of being in a major elected position again.”
However, 2024 brought with it some concerns for Lapointe, such as a new high school proposition and the direction certain School Committee candidates might take the town. In response, Lapointe ran a successful campaign and secured a three-year School Committee term, but the new year presented even more challenges.
“Since then, like an old movie, I’ve watched things happening within the Town Council that reminds me of the 2015-2016 years,” Lapointe said. “We had made so much progress, and there’s so much important stuff coming up; I couldn’t sit by and watch it unfold. I have to try to help.”
When asked what his first course of action would be if re-elected to Town Council, Lapointe laid out a plan to reach out directly to fellow council members, ensuring that everyone is able to voice their feelings and concerns.
“Right now, people have gotten so frustrated and it’s coming out in less than perfect ways,” Lapointe said. “I would really put the effort in to help my fellow councilors get their voices heard, even if I don’t agree with them. I think I can be a bridge in that way.”
Lapointe also put responsible management of taxpayers’ money and improving communication with residents at the top of his to-do list. Free cash surpluses have been a recent luxury due to COVID-19 funds, but that extra cash is not always guaranteed and Lapointe wants to make sure North Attleborough has a clear objective moving forward.
“I think we have to work hard to make sure we have a plan for those funds, particularly to fund the deferred capital needs in town,” Lapointe said. “There are a lot of buildings that need work that were deferred for decades, and we’ve been catching up in the last few years, but there’s still so much to do. I want to continue to work with the town manager to make sure that we have a clear vision of how we’re spending the taxpayers money.
“There’s so much work going on right now around water safety, flooding, housing development and senior programs. I think the council can be really helpful in making sure the residents understand that the good work happening may not be front page news, but is really important for the community.”
If he secures a seat on Town Council again, Lapointe would resign from his current position on the School Committee, which would then be given to the candidate who comes in third place in that election this spring. Lapointe spoke of the immense progress made in the new high school building project as something he’s proud of accomplishing during his time on the committee.
“I have productive communication channels and relationships across town and feel like being a member of the School Committee has allowed me to leverage those connections to help improve communication between the schools, the council and other town departments,” Lapointe said. “There’s been some great progress made on school budget conversations and, although we’re still in the middle of it, I feel like we’ve made some good traction helping the council and town manager to understand some of the things that are going on in the schools.”
Looking back on the previous decade, specifically the years of 2014-2016, Lapointe recounted when the high school was at risk of losing accreditation and the Richards Memorial Library was only kept open through annual state exemption applications. Selectmen meetings were more of a reality TV show than a productive part of town government, and cuts from the budget for teacher and police officer positions were a constant reality. Lapointe looks to ensure that North Attleborough never reverts back to those times, and thinks a return to Town Council is the best way to keep the town moving in a positive direction.
“My priority has been and will always be to make North Attleborough the best little community that it can be,” he said. “I think that starts with open communication that’s transparent, collaborative and professional. I’m really proud of my track record in doing that and I feel like there’s an opportunity for me to help again in the current day.”
North Attleborough’s Town Election will take place on April 1, with 18 residents joining Lapointe in the race for Town Council: David Cannata Jr., Cara Caranci, Donald Cerrone, John Costello, Daniel Donovan, Leo Glennon, Troy Goodman, Mark Gould Jr., Michael Gould Jr., Zach Johnson, James Lang, Kevin McCarthy, Justin Pare, Joseph Rezza, John Simmons, Andrea Slobogan, Patricia St. Pierre and Laura Wagner.
