If elected, Board of Selectmen candidate Frank DeFelice said he hopes he will be remembered for bringing "the Town of Wareham out of where the last four years have put it," for getting people to want to visit Wareham and enjoy the town, and "for our Board [of Selectmen] to be known as the friendliest Board that's been in the Town of Wareham for years."

DeFelice, 67, says he hopes to work on financial issues the town faces, grow business in town, and promote governmental transparency if he is elected to one of the two open seats on the Board.

He wants to help "get our financial house in order," he said, and cited the settling of union contracts as particularly important.

"We need to [settle contracts] so we know what we're going to owe," he said.

As a member of the Board of Selectmen, DeFelice said he would like to meet with Town Administrator Mark Andrews and his leadership team weekly to brainstorm ideas about promoting business in town, as well as meet with the business community to see if there are ways to help owners.

As for the current situation with Walmart proposing to move from East Wareham to West Wareham, DeFelice said he would "impress upon the Zoning and Planning boards that Walmart should fill the current building before [the boards] give them the OK to move."

He also said he wants to enter into discussions with A.D. Makepeace to help move some of the company's development projects along and "keep building the commercial base in town."

DeFelice said the town could possibly bring more money in by promoting Wareham's beaches. "Make a profit out of them. ... Get people to want to come here."

DeFelice currently works as the Inspector of Buildings/Building Commissioner in the Town of Eastham. It is his third run for a seat on the Board of Selectmen. He previously served multiple terms as a Selectman in Milton, N.H.

"I know how a town works," DeFelice said, adding that he has experience in creating budgets and has negotiated contracts as nine-year president of the Eastham Employees Association. DeFelice sees Wareham as faced with many challenges and says he wants to "straighten out the mess that the previous Boards [of Selectmen] have put the town in."

One of those challenges is staffing town departments because of "what the previous Board [of Selectmen] has done to decimate department heads," DeFelice said. "I'd like to put some people in the spots that belong there and help the town. ... Get a cohesion going."

DeFelice said he is unhappy with the current town administration. "There's no transparency in the government we have right now. ... We don't need to hide behind closed doors," he said. "I'm not overly enthused with [Town Administrator Mark Andrews'] hiring practices," citing hiring the Director of Inspectional Services at a higher-than-advertised rate and not adding a full-time Police Chief to the payroll.

DeFelice said part-time interim Police Chief Richard Stanley's performance "has been fair. ... I think the Selectmen have bent over backwards to give him anything he wants and would give nothing to the previous Police Chief." He added: "Giving two days a week, what can you do? I think the credit should go to our force."

DeFelice says that contract negotiations with the chief, who the town wants to hire full-time, have been drawn out. "To negotiate with him for a year or a year-and-a-half, I've never heard of that," DeFelice said. "We need a full-time Police Chief."

DeFelice said he would like to see more information shared the public during Board of Selectmen meetings, especially during Andrews' reports to the Board, with more specific updates about goings-on in town departments.

"I want to see some meat so we can get Wareham moving in the right direction," DeFelice said.

DeFelice graduated from the Wentworth Institute of Technology. He lives on Maki Way with his wife of 36 years, Patricia. The couple has two children: James and Kimberly, two grandchildren, 10-year-old T.J. and 7-year-old Dominic, and two dogs.

DeFelice said he's followed the politics and goings-on in the town for roughly 10 years. Before moving to Wareham four years ago, DeFelice lived on the Plymouth and Wareham town line.

"I could be a positive force in moving Wareham in the right direction," DeFelice said. He added: "I would open up better communication between our town officials, town employees, and our citizens."

He said his favorite aspects about the town are "the beaches and the malls."