Meet Nathan Silva

Nathan Silva’s interest in town government began several years ago when he heard about the challenges the school district was facing, and with two daughters in the district, he wanted to understand the root causes.

Now Silva is running for a seat on the Select Board because he thinks he has “a lot to offer this community.”

He said that people may perceive him as “the schools guy,” but noted that the reality is that he wants to see a Dartmouth “turned over to the next generation that is at least as good as the one that we inherited.”

He added, “Whether that’s the schools or the overall operations of the town or our capital infrastructure, that’s really my driving force.”

Silva said there are three pillars in his campaign, with the first being civic engagement through transparency and clarity, explaining that he wants to see a scenario where the town government engages with residents more.

This would include giving residents an opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns in a similar fashion to the School Committee, which builds a 10-minute slot for public comment into meeting agendas.

“I’m sure there’s challenges that come along with that, but I think it’s challenges worth facing,” he said.

A second pillar is focusing on having strong schools.

For Silva, public education is something “worth protecting and preserving because our children … rely upon that for their future.”

The third pillar in Silva’s campaign is focusing on long-term planning with a sense of urgency.

He said the formation of the long-term capital planning committee was a step in the right direction, though he would “love to instill a sense of urgency to get those things done.”

These projects would include the wastewater treatment plant — which Silva said is approaching capacity and aging out — the school buildings, and the water system.

“These are challenges that we can’t ignore,” Silva said. “We must start chipping away at making these investments in our community to preserve it for the generations that follow us.”

Silva works as a project executive at Gilbane Building Company where he manages large scale commercial construction projects.

As a project executive, Silva manages a project’s finances, the team of individuals that delivers a project to clients, as well as a project’s overall safety, quality and timeline.

Silva said he is “no stranger to large numbers and big budgets” because of his work as a project executive.

Besides his work at Gilbane Building Company, Silva has been a Town Meeting member since 2024 and joined the finance committee in September 2025 when a position opened up and he decided to apply.

Silva noted that the town is in a “challenging financial situation” because there are constraints on what the town is able to fund.

He said that his concern and opinion is that the schools have historically been asked to “reduce their service levels to preserve level services for the rest of town.”

Silva said that he’s been advocating for the schools because he feels that they’re getting left behind and doesn’t think that it’s fair.

He noted that he would “much rather have an environment where all of our departments have the resources they need.”

“The same level of preparedness and research that I bring to my advocacy for the school department I will bring to the rest of town government,” Silva said.