Election 2025

Election 2025: Town Meeting Member Profiles: Precinct 4

Meet your candidates for Town Meeting and learn about their priorities.

Nicci Kadilak

Mar 6, 2025 — 7 min read

This article is a part of the Burlington Buzz Election 2025 Series, in which we profile each candidate for election. This year's election is on April 5, 2025, and our mission is to make it easy for all registered voters to vote by ensuring the community has access to information about the candidates and issues on the ballot. ELECTION CORNER

David Miller

Tell voters a little about your background and why you're deciding to run for Town Meeting (or why you're running for re-election).

I was born in Pennsylvania, moved to Boston, went through the Boston public schools, graduating from Boston Latin School. I earned my bachelor and master degrees in electrical engineering from Northeastern University, served in the Army National Guard, and was inducted into 3 national honor societies, Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi, and Phi Kappa Phi. My father started teaching here, so our family moved to Burlington where I have lived for more than 54 years. This was great for my career, as Burlington was centrally located to many high tech companies. I was both an electrical and software engineer and was co-inventor of 4 U.S. patents. We have lived in our home for over 46 years and raised our children here. In 2016 there was an open Town Meeting Member seat in Precinct 4. This prompted me to get involved in our town government by running for that seat. I waged a successful write-in campaign and have been serving as a representative since.

Why do you want to serve on Town Meeting?

One thing is that I did not want to become a Town Meeting Member for the title; I wanted to be an active member, trying to make Burlington a better place to live. My accomplishments on Town Meeting's General Bylaw Review Committee (GBRC) and the Select Board's Information Systems Security Advisory Committee (ISSAC) shows I have done exactly that.

What do you see as your charge as a Town Meeting Member in your precinct?

I see my charge as listening to my constituents regarding issues that impact their lives. I am always open to receiving feedback and requests from residents. If I can't provide help I will try to find someone who can. I hope to continue contributing to the town of Burlington and representing Precinct 4.

What do you see as the three biggest priorities for Burlington and how should Town Meeting address them?

Education - This is my top priority, in fact, my greatest passion, for Burlington and beyond. This is key to the next generation having a better life. And one way a town is judged is by the quality of its schools. I contribute in this arena is by volunteer tutoring and mentoring middle and high school students. Sometimes I have worked with as many as 10 students weekly on a 1-on-1 basis. For the 2020 - 2021 academic year I won an award for my work which you can read about in this BCAT BNEWS article: https://bcattv.org/burlingtons-david-miller-recognized-for-work-in-education/. Before the pandemic I volunteered for Burlington's Bridges Together program, where we went into 4th grade classrooms and worked with students on a different topic each week. On the state level I was an active member of the Education Working Group that was formed by former state representative, Jay Kaufman. I conducted research and interviewed school personnel about the impact of high stakes testing, such as MCAS, on the academic year. I am particularly proud of all my work on education because I feel it honors and continues the legacy of my father, Sam, who was an admired Math teacher at Francis Wyman Middle School. And like my father, I love working with the students and have such fun doing it. It is really satisfying seeing a student grasp a concept. My wife notices that I am excited and beaming after my tutoring and mentoring sessions.

Quality of Life - This is particularly important to me, as it is to all Burlington residents. As a current Town Meeting Member I have directly contributed to improving some aspects of quality of life here in town. I, with the help of the General Bylaw Review Committee (GBRC) of which I am a member, completely rewrote the Construction Hours bylaw to eliminate ambiguities and further limit weekend construction hours. Also, with the help of the GBRC, I introduced a new bylaw that limits the starting time for curbside pickup of trash, recycles, yard waste, etc. I presented and defended both of these bylaws at Town Meeting which approved them. Both bylaws were subsequently approved by the state Attorney General and are now official Town bylaws. Additionally, I chaired the GBRC's Stormwater Subcommittee whose members worked closely with the Conservation Department to integrate new state regulations into the Town's existing stormwater management bylaw. I continue to look for ways to make improvements in how we are all able to enjoy our town and welcome thoughts and ideas from all residents. Burlington will continue to grow but we need to make sure it's in a way that does not negatively impact its residents.

Cybersecurity - This, as we all know all too well now, is critically important to Burlington. Back in 2019 the Select Board formed the ad-hoc Information System Security Advisory Committee (ISSAC) to look into this matter. I was appointed to the committee because of my strong technical background which included security work at IBM where I was co-inventor of two United States security patents . The ad-hoc ISSAC committee worked for about six months investigating the status of Burlington's information systems and cybersecurity. Based on that investigation, we recommended that a permanent ISSAC committee was needed to ensure that Burlington evolved its strategy for protecting the Town. Such a permanent committee was approved, and again, I was appointed by the Select Board to serve on it. I chaired the ISSAC's Charter Subcommittee whose members not only wrote the committee's charter, but also produced a security policy for the Town that was unanimously approved by the Select Board. This policy now applies to all Town entities.

There are many other issues that I care about. I will list them here in no particular order with very brief comments. Contact me for further discussion on any of them.

Public Meeting Accessibility - I have been very actively involved in getting the Town to require Town Meeting to be a hybrid meeting, that is, to allow both in-person and remote, virtual attendance. This will enable and encourage more participation from not only town meeting members, but also residents, allowing more community engagement in government. This effort bore fruit in 2024 as Town Meeting approved a bylaw change requiring the hybrid meetings. The next step is to get the May 2025 Town Meeting to approve a home rule petition to the Massachusetts State Legislature that would allow the Town to do this under Massachusetts General Law.

Open Space - I was an active participant in the effort to designate the Landlocked Forest "Open Space", including speaking out in support at Town Meeting.

Library - My wife and I both worked in libraries while in school, and my family has been using the library for years, including attending many lectures and events. I believe the library is a critical resource for the Town because one way a town is judged is by the quality of its library.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - My family is a multi-ethnic one, so we are very sensitive to how all people are treated, both in private interactions as well as public forums.

Water Quality - The safety of our drinking water is of utmost importance. This issue is on track to being resolved by disconnecting from the polluted Vine Brook aquifer and connecting up to the MWRA system. I have voted at Town Meeting to support the funding for this project.

Life Sciences - A growing Life Science industry helps maintain our tax revenues in the face of dwindling office space demand. I am proud that the Northeastern University Burlington Innovation Campus is the centerpiece of the influx of Life Sciences into our town. I have voted to approve the Zoning Bylaw changes that make it easier for these businesses to operate in town while maintaining a high level of safety for Town residents.

How will you impact these important issues in your role as Town Meeting Member?

My impact on these three key issues was highlighted in the previous section.

There are a number of building projects on the town's agenda that will impact tax bills for residents for decades to come. What do you think should be Town Meeting's role in the decision making process?

It is Town Meeting's role to approve or not approve the funding for these projects. Its members must not only get input about the various building options, but also hear from residents about impacts of the building projects. These impacts can be financial, i.e., tax increases, as well as quality of life, such as water issues, noise, traffic, etc. As town meeting members we must gather all this information and make an informed, balanced decision about each building project.

Low inventory and high prices have resulted in a nationwide housing crisis whose impacts can be felt in Burlington. What do you think Burlington has done right, and what does the town still lack, to address this issue?

I believe multi-family housing has a big role to play here, and I think the Town has done OK with regards to the MBTA Communities Act as It created the MBTA Communittees Multi-Family Overlay District (MCMOD) for muli-family housing. However, much more should be done. It seems most residents tell stories of a modest house being torn down and a McMansion going up in its place. It would be nice if a 2-family house could go up instead.

How will you solicit input from your constituents?

At about the time that I became a Town Meeting Member in 2016, a proposal for a development project came before the Town boards. Because of the location of the project, it impacted not only me and the other neighbors who lived on my street, but also neighbors on 5 other streets. There were about 20 families who were impacted, and they are all my constituents. At first I, and a lot of my neighbors, attended all of the Planning Board, Board of Health, and Conservation Commission meetings about the project. Over time I became the spokesperson for my neighbors since I was their town meeting representative; and I did speak out at many meetings of the Town boards and commissions. In fact, I attended a Board of Health (BOH) subcommittee meeting where the Chair commented that this was first time an abutter ever attended a BOH subcommittee meeting. The project finally completed in 2024 but I still communicate with my neighbors about other matters and they contact me with questions and concerns. I welcome these inquiries and I have always responded in less than 24 hours.