Meet Justin
I’m Justin Evans and I love serving on the Select Board in my hometown. I grew up in this community: playing town sports, going to Winterfest, and performing in OnStage Theater.
It was actually a teacher at Whitman Hanson Regional High School that inspired me to pursue engineering, and after graduating from Northeastern University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, I worked at a clean energy startup. I continued that passion by returning to grad school to study Energy Systems Engineering at night, while working as a manufacturing engineer during the day. Late in 2018 I began a job with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities as a Pipeline Engineer, working to make sure the incident in the Merrimack Valley doesn’t happen again. I took over as the Assistant Director of Pipeline Safety in 2021
Along the way, I married a girl from Hanson. Although both of us had gone to school in the city, we couldn’t think of a better place than Whitman to start a family. After our wedding at Camp Kiwanee, we put down roots in the town we both love. We bought a house in Whitman in 2018 and had our daughter in 2022.
When I moved back to my hometown I joined the Finance Committee, and in 2019 won a seat on the Select Board. Since then I’ve been at the core of modernizing Whitman government. Budget analysis, town survey, strategic planning, a Hazard Mitigation Plan for Climate risks. We’ve hired a new Town Administrator, Police Chief, and Fire Chief. We joined the Community Preservation Act. We implemented online permitting, updated the town bylaws and put them publicly available online, and finally updated the town website.
I’m a dedicated public servant, working full time for the Department of Public Utilities. I love public service and it has been an honor to represent the people of Whitman on the Select Board.
Problem Solver
I ran hoping to solve problems. It’s what I do as an Engineer and that’s why I hit the ground running on long term planning and modernization, taking advantage of every available state incentive along the way.
The biggest issue I wanted to tackle was serious long term planning. Since my time on the Finance Committee we’ve completed a community wide survey, a salary study, an outside budget analysis, a housing production plan, and a hazard mitigation plan. To tie it all together we hired a consultant to complete a long term strategic plan. All said we’re well set up for the future.
We began replacing our aging infrastructure. We purchased and installed new LED streetlights that save the town $100,000 annually. We’ve sourced state grants to cover over $500,000 for street and sidewalk work in the center and on Essex Street. We’ve approved a major sewer force main project, and are replacing the DPW building. And we’ve begun the process to build a new Whitman Middle School.
The thing I’m most proud of is the level of communication I was able to maintain with members of the public throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As always, you can contact me on any social media, or at VoteJustinEvans@gmail.com
