Candidate Q&A: William Sandalls for Moderator

In advance of the annual town election on May 5, Weston Patch is posting Q&As with candidates running for election or re-election to town boards, seats or committees.

The following Q&A is with William (Bill) Sandalls, candidate for Moderator. Sandalls is challenging incumbent Wendy Spector. (See a Q&A with Spector here.)

Q. Why are you running for Moderator?

Sandalls: I am running on a pledge that, if I am elected, I will carry out the duties of the moderator as fairly and as unbiased as is humanly possible. That means that voters attending Town Meetings, particularly those with views that might be in the minority, have a right to be heard as long as the debate and discussion is germane to the issue to be decided by the vote taken at the end of debate and discussion. It also means that votes must be handled competently so that the will of the majority is conclusively expressed.

Q. What is your background in local government or community involvement?

Sandalls: I served on the Finance Committee from 1983 to 1989, and chaired the committee my last two years. There is no better vantage point in town government than the FinCom to observe and learn the on-going balancing act between improving the schools and town services while keeping tax rates as low as possible. In 1991, I was elected to the School Committee.

Q. Do you have other experiences that will help you as Moderator?

Sandalls: Over the course of my 37-year business career, I had the opportunity to serve on many boards and committees, many of which I also chaired. The best experiences were like what I would strive for as moderator: open discussion and a clear conclusion at the end of the meeting.

Q. If elected, what would you bring to the Moderator's role in town?

Sandalls: A moderator must not only be fair and unbiased but must also appear to be so to the voters attending Town Meetings. The appearance of impartiality is a crucial but delicate thing—once it is lost, it is hard, perhaps impossible, to recover. I believe Weston voters are looking for a fresh start with a new moderator. If elected, I will do everything I can to keep the trust of the voters.

Q. Name one thing residents of Weston may not know about you.

Sandalls: Back when automated teller machines were at the cutting edge of electronic banking, I was a co-founder, along with about a dozen other bankers from retail banking organizations across the United States, of the Cirrus ATM interchange network and served on its Board of Directors from its inception to its eventual sale to MasterCard International in 1988. During this time, I served as Cirrus’ Treasurer and then as its Chairman of the Board until 1992. Today Cirrus remains one of the largest international ATM interchange networks.