Hannah Bowen Declares Candidacy For Beverly City Council Seat

The following is a declaration of candidacy from Beverly City Council candidate Hannah Bowen to Patch:

Beverly, MA — Beverly resident Hannah Bowen is seeking to represent her neighbors as an At-Large City Councilor in this fall's local election.

An experienced policy advocate and nonprofit director, she was inspired by current and past city leaders to offer her skills and perspective to the city council at this critical time.

"Beverly has an incredibly active community of volunteers and elected officials, and their service to our city has motivated me to step up as well," Bowen said. "There is so much our local government can do to meet this community's needs, especially after the year we've just experienced.

"I feel lucky to be in a position right now where I have the capacity, energy and skills to contribute as part of the group we elect to the city council."

A first-time candidate, she is no stranger to local issues on the North Shore. She moved to Beverly in 2018 and quickly became involved around the community, joining organizations like the Ward 2 Civic Association and actively participating in city meetings.

In 2020, she was appointed to Beverly's Charter Review Committee, a group convened every 10 years to review the city's system of government and look for any issues that have become outdated or could be improved.

"Getting involved in the Charter Review has answered a lot of questions for me about why our city government is organized the way it is and how we as a community make decisions and express our priorities," Bowen said. "It's also helped clarify my own vision for the way we as residents interact with our city government."

Her pitch to voters centers around that relationship as much as any specific issue. A self-described "generalist," her professional experience as a policy advocate and leader of cross-sector partnerships has spanned several issues, including global health, access to information, and sustainable investing.

She grew up in Swampscott and graduated in the Swampscott High class of 1999, then got degrees from Yale University and Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government before embarking on a career in social impact.

She credits her time serving as a Peace Corps volunteer after college with locking in a lifelong commitment to community service.

"What my Peace Corps experience taught me most of all was how to listen well and connect with people," she said. "Before you can get into problem-solving together, you have to be genuinely curious about other people's perspectives, and open to supporting other people's ideas.

"That lesson has always served me well, and definitely helped me settle in when I moved back to the North Shore for good a few years ago."

Bowen added that her unique mix of local and global experience would be an asset as the city takes on new opportunities and challenges that have not been faced here before.

Beverly will hold its preliminary election on Sept. 21, 2021, if needed, and the final election will be held on Nov. 2, 2021.

(Declarations of candidacy for the citywide election can be sent to Scott Souza at scott.souza@patch.com.)