Four Candidates Clash Over Override, Downtown, and Data Centers Before May 12 Vote

MANSFIELD — April 30, 2026 — Mansfield Select Board candidates split over future override as budget shortfall dominates April 30 forum. Incumbents Maureen Doherty and Brendan Roach faced challengers Mark Corsillo and Scott Barbato at a Mansfield Cable Access forum moderated by Danielle Fish, with all four candidates addressing two open seats up for election on May 12. Roach said he was the sole board member to vote to put this year's override to the public, and called for a "comprehensive override proposal" in the coming year; Doherty backed a future override provided salary and benefit cost curves are first flattened, citing Town Manager Josh Ranke's newly published financial stability strategy. Corsillo argued the town's industrial park vacancy has doubled to roughly 1 million square feet in three years and proposed pressing Live Nation for greater public safety contributions from Xfinity Center events; Barbato called that approach misguided and favored expanded user fees instead. Corsillo also clarified that his Planning Board's proposed data center ban — headed to town meeting the following week — was fully proactive, with no application pending, driven by the town's one-to-two megawatt spare electrical capacity limit and data centers' high water consumption.