General News and/or Opinion

by Mark Adler

For the first time in a decade, someone other than Karyn Polito is running for State Representative.

Local businessman, Matt Beaton, is preparing a run for the Republican nomination. He owns Beaton Construction, LLC.

He's a lifelong Shrewsbury resident. a town meeting member and member of the Shrewsbury Development Corporation. He says that, "being a small business owner here in town, I know the struggles small businesses face dealing with taxes, insurance and general obstructions to running a healthy business."

He also says he's an active advocate of environmental preservation. He owns a construction company that focuses on green building and energy efficiency. He is also an avid outdoorsman and says he has "developed a passionate desire to do my part to preserve our natural environment."

Beaton has an undergraduate degree from WPI in Biotechnology with a concentration in Environmental Engineering. He later attended BU for a Masters Degree in Energy and Environmental policy. He worked in a law firm while training for the United Stated National Rowing Team. He trained at the Donohue Rowing Center and represented the club and Shrewsbury at the World Rowing Championships. Beaton practiced as an environmental engineer for two years before starting his own construction company.

For community service, he has been a Big Brother for over 14 years and his "little brother" is now a crew chief for his company. Some of his charitable organizations in which he's been involved has included St. Mary's parish, Why Me, OutdoorExplorations and Habitat for Humanity.

His website is still under construction, but you'll be hearing more about him here on ShrewsBuried!

Rep. Polito is running for State Treasurer, but hasn't made a formal announcement yet. That's likely to come Monday morning at the Omni Parker House in Boston.

Will other Republicans challenge Polito for the Republican nomination for Treasurer? Two Democrats are already vying for their party's nomination. Will other Republicans challenge Beaton for the Representative nomination? And will Democrats have a decent candidate in the Representative's race? Time will tell.

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