Dawn was previously elected to the Select Board at a time when Lexington regularly had to pass operating overrides to meet its fiscal needs. At that time, limited reserve funds and other financial concerns led to a declining bond rating, and a lack of long term capital planning was straining the town’s services and infrastructure. Dawn worked collaboratively to re-establish transparency and professionalism within town government which included the development of the town’s collaborative budgeting process to discuss policy with the Select Board, School Committee, and finance committees prior to setting the annual budget. The implementation of these fiscally responsible policies helped to build up reserve funds that restored the town’s AAA bond rating.

Once elected to the Select Board, Dawn immediately got to work on long term capital planning. She chaired the Space Needs/Building Assessment Advisory Committee which laid the groundwork for the eventual building of the new Department of Public Works headquarters, Fire and Police stations, and modernized Town Hall with 21st Century technology. As chair of the Select Board, Dawn built a coalition to break a 20-year log jam to ensure the DPW headquarters would be built on Bedford St.

With an eye towards economic development being the key to maintaining the quality of life for Lexington residents while limiting the burden on taxpayers, Dawn led the development of the town’s award winning Liberty Ride. She built a coalition of support for additional investment in the visitor-based economy and spearheaded the new Visitors Center. Along with other innovative policies, Dawn’s economic development initiative provided much needed revenue to the town from outside the residential tax base.

Dawn was on the frontlines in the early 1990s advocating for reforming the town’s long held policy of budgeting for municipal needs first, and leaving the schools whatever funds were left over. She had the vision to address the overcrowding at the elementary school level, and was instrumental in advocating for the reopening of the Hastings School. Dawn understands and values the collaboration we see today between the Select Board and School Committee, and will work to ensure the needs of residents young and old are at the heart of policy making into the future.

Throughout her extensive and successful career, Dawn has proven that she gets it done for Lexington’s residents by creating an innovative and forward-looking approach to policy making. Dawn is someone who will work to empower residents and make sure everyone has a seat at the table when it comes to the future of our town.

A mother of two and a dedicated Boston sports fan, Dawn is married to a retired public elementary school principal and teacher. The daughter of a Navy veteran who helped create and pass the landmark Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Act, she has always been a small business advocate at heart.

Dawn moved to Lexington when she was five, and first met her future husband while in second grade at the old Franklin Elementary School. While attending Lexington High School (Class of ‘76) she was Class Treasurer and helped to start the school’s renowned debate team. Dawn went on to Wheaton College where she graduated with a degree in American history and American government, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Administration and Management from Harvard.

Following college, Dawn was a teacher at a Presidential Classroom for Young Americans in Washington D.C., and began to realize the positive effect of sound policy making at the local level. After her children were born, Dawn began regularly attending Select Board and School Committee meetings to learn how they worked to support Lexington’s residents, a practice she still maintains to this day. 

Through regularly attending meetings of the town’s various boards and committees Dawn began to understand that she brought the skills necessary to advocate for the needs of her fellow residents. In 1994, at a time when Lexington faced a similar population boom we see today, Dawn was first elected to serve in Town Meeting. She began her work advocating for the needs of her fellow neighbors as a member of the Hastings Reopening Task Force, the Bridge PTA, the Town Celebrations Committee, and eventually as chair of the Town Meeting Members Association. Since then, Dawn has campaigned and has been enthusiastically re-elected to Town Meeting every term. Bringing together diverse coalitions around countless issues and projects have been the hallmark of Dawn’s contributions to help create the thriving community Lexington is today.