Incumbent Selectman candidate Cara Winslow says that if she's re-elected, creating policies to keep Wareham's finances on the straight and narrow will be one of her priorities.

"We need to decide how we're going to put the town on some stable financial footing to guarantee stability in the future," said Winslow. "If I can walk away three years from now and we're in a better financial place, and we've got policy in place to ensure that, going forward, we've got a handle on our finances, the next time we hit a trouble spot it's going to be so much easier to navigate."

Winslow has lived in Wareham for 10 years, and is wrapping up her first term as a Selectman. She holds a B.A. from Stonehill College in Criminal Justice and Sociology. She's currently employed by Navionics Inc. in Wareham, where she works in the human resources department.

Prior to that, she worked for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). She says that both jobs have helped her gain skill sets that assist her in her role as Selectmen.

"Over the course of my career, and I've done lot of things, from working in [human resources] to negotiating labor contracts. You have to be able to work with everybody," says Winslow. "And you have to be able to sit down and have a difficult conversation with somebody."

During her first term, Winslow says she's come to have a greater understanding and appreciation for the consequences that decisions made by Selectmen can have, and she's learned the importance of objectively evaluating every proposal brought before the board.

"When you sit in that chair, you don't have any friends and you don't have any enemies," she said. "Every person that comes before you, you have to focus completely on what they're bringing."

Winslow said that of all the things that the board has done over the last three years, the recent hire of Town Administrator Derek Sullivan is one that she's proud of.

"I think he shows an enormous amount of promise and I'm very hopeful that his time with us will be successful," she said.

Sullivan is young, but Winslow sees that as a positive attribute.

"You know, he's inexperienced, but in my mind, he'll be able to learn, and maybe having someone learn, here in Wareham, how we want things done is better than trying to break bad habits," she noted.

Winslow is concerned with encouraging economic growth in Wareham, and thinks the current board has done well by bringing new businesses to the table, and opening the door for them.

"The first thing is, you have to be willing to work with businesses and understand their needs in a changing economy. Everything for a business has changed," she said. "It's hard for them to get financing. ... I think businesses are very concerned about their ability to compete, to attract quality employees, and they're concerned about sustainability."

Winslow said that one thing that could help the local economy over the long term is imagination and new ideas. She said the soon-to-be vacant Walmart store in East Wareham could be a potential location for a train station if rail service should come to Wareham.

She added that while rail service may be a long way down the road, "this is the opportune time to look at that."

If re-elected, Winslow says she hopes to tackle some of the town's infrastructure needs.

"We have to start addressing some of our infrastructure issues, our capital improvement needs," she said. "We've outgrown what we have."

Winslow cited the police station, the Town Hall, the Municipal Maintenance building, and the elementary schools as public buildings in need of repair or replacement.

Winslow, who has been the only woman on the board since Ellen Begley resigned in January, attributed her approach to conflict resolution, in part, to her gender.

"Women tend to almost naturally want to work things out," Winslow explained. "We deal with groups of children who fight amongst themselves, we listen to our husband's problems at work. That's sort of our role."

Winslow says that the alternative to working things out is to have a divided Board of Selectmen.

"We are going to have issues we don't agree on, and the community should welcome that. We don't want a unified board. But there's also none of that screaming and yelling and name-calling," that has been present on some boards, she said.

Winslow says that being a woman also affects the way she views issues that she believes are important to many women in the community.

"I worry about the kids at school and I worry about the seniors at the Council on Aging. I have a small child, I also have a grandmother," said Winslow. "When we talk about cuts and things like that, I worry about the moms who are going to worry about their kids. And when we talk about the Council on Aging, I worry about the people who rely their resources."

Winslow said one thing that drives her is the motivation to leave the town in a better state for the next generation.

"When my daughter grows up," she said, "I want her to want to live here."