Selectman Dan DiTucci Seeking Second Term

Editor's note: The following is an interview with Selectmen and candidate for re-election Daniel DiTucci. In the upcoming days Burlington Patch will feature articles on all of the candidates in the contested Board of Selectmen and Planning Board races.

Selectman Daniel DiTucci is seeking a second term on the Board of Selectmen and is looking to garner support for the April 14 town election. DiTucci was originally elected in 2009 and is currently the vice chair on the board.

DiTucci has lived in Burlington since 1959 and he and his wife Mary raised their three sons in town. DiTucci has been in youth soccer and little league and he is the owner of

Before running for the Board of Selectmen, DiTucci was a member of Burlington Town Meeting for 12 years. He said his inspiration to run for the board came after following the progress from the town as a Town Meeting member.

"What inspired me to first run in 2008 was the fact that I was a member of Town Meeting and saw what was happening," he said. "I was not satisfied with the way the Board of Selectmen was running the town."

DiTucci said he felt he could use his experience and energy to help.

"I don't believe anyone should run for a position for any other reason than  that you are not satisfied with a person's or board's performance," he said. "Being in Town Meeting for all of those years and being active in Ways and Means, I really felt I could add more value to the board than what was presently there."

"My kids are grown up and married, and I'm self employed, so I have the time, the energy and the knowledge on how to run a town government," he added. 

DiTucci said that since he first decided to run amidst frustrations with the board, he has seen a marked improvement and that is something he is proud to see.

"I can honestly say that over the last three years there is, in my opinion, a better rapport between Town Meeting and the Board of Selectmen," he said. "I believe Town Meeting is not left in the dark as much as it was previously, and that was a concern when I was a member. This board is more open and transparent. Our system is the best form of government and right now we enjoy a good relationship between the board and Town Meeting."

There are also projects and actions undertaken or approved by the board in the past three years that DiTucci said he was proud to be a part of bringing about.

First, he highlighted the sewer main project.

"I have helped restart the sewer main project, which was idle for over 10 years," he said. "I went with DPW Director Jon Sanchez to Town Meeting because I felt the project was very important. We are removing thousands of feet of sewer lines out of sensitive areas. I feel one of my strong points is getting things like this done."

DiTucci said he was also proud that the board has moved forward on a study of a possible , approved in the January Town Meeting.

"We have a DPW operations facility that is in a very sensitive area that we will moving to a new location up the street to a property that was commercial use for many years," he explained. "The new location is still a sensitive area but if this goes forward, we can at least have a town building on a sensitive parcel and so no private development worries."

He also pointed to the automated trash pick-up and automated water meters as meaning accomplishments.

"I think my strong point is that I can get things done," he said. "I can go to Town Meeting and show the importance of projects and convince them this is money well spent. Money spent on infrastructure and capital improvements is the best money spent."

Finally, looking ahead, DiTucci said that the next board will have some difficult issues to face, most notably escalating healthcare costs.

"In both private business and in government you struggle to find ways to deliver healthcare to employees," he said. "This is something that must be addressed for our town employees, and our taxpayers, who pay 70 percent of the town employee health care costs."

The town election will be held April 14 in the Burlington High School gym.