Rosemary Cerqueira Enters Race For Milford’s Lone Contested Seat On Board Of Health

MILFORD, MA — Milford residents will vote in April on several local offices, including the only contested race, an open Board of Health seat, and longtime resident Rosemary Cerqueira has announced her candidacy.

Cerqueira, a Milford resident since she was five years old, has spent most of her life helping others. She has worked as a nurse in multiple hospitals, provided emergency and disaster response care and served as an educator.

Following a graduation from Milford High School, Cerqueira pursued a degree in nursing at Northeastern University. She also holds a second degree from Framingham State University and a master's in nursing science from UMass Chan Medical School in Worcester.

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Cerqueira has spent a lot of time in nursing-related fields. She has worked as a professor and served for 25 years at UMass's Level 1 trauma center.

In 2002, following the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Cerqueira decided she would join the Disaster Medical Assistance Teams in Massachusetts, which provides rapid-response medical care during public health and medical emergencies.

Cerqueira told Patch that her time working with DMAT prepared her well for a role on the Board of Health.

"That part of my career with disaster management and being a nurse and a nurse practitioner, I think that's going to be helpful so that we can prepare for the future," Cerqueira told Patch.

Ultimately, Cerqueira decided to run for the town's open Board of Health position to give back to the community.

While working as a nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic, Cerqueira said the hospital in Milford where she worked was running out of supplies, and she asked the community for help, which drew a big response.

Cerqueira said hardware stores donated boxes of N95 masks, and community members came out to make caps for nurses' heads.

"Now's the time that I think I want to pursue this and give back to the community because they were there when we needed them the most," she told Patch.

Cerqueira said she also served on the Milford School committee from 2003 to 2006, and as a Town Meeting member for Precinct 6.

Issues facing Milford residents

When asked about the top issues facing Milford residents today, Cerqueira discussed overcrowding in multi-family homes.

"It's a big health issue because you have so many people living in... one bedroom," said Cerqueira, adding that it's also a fire hazard and can create trash buildup in many communities.

She said that the trash produced in some complexes is becoming too much for the containers, resulting in food and garbage everywhere.

"You have the possibility of rodents coming in, and going through these trash bags and exposing people to illnesses," she said.

Cerqueira added that another issue she sees in town is the condition of some homes, which can affect residents' health and bring down the value of other homes.

"We see homes in terrible conditions," she told Patch. "They're pretty run down, they've been neglected, with vegetation that has overgrown."

Cerqueira said that, given her experience, now is the perfect time to run, especially amid the decline in vaccination rates in the U.S. She said this comes amid a rise in communicable diseases, such as measles.

"I want to make sure that we do have plans in place at the school, and I think my experience working on the school committee is going to be very helpful," she told Patch. "I'm going to try to get in there and talk to the nurses and talk to the School Committee themselves and see if we don't have a plan, can we come up with a plan that works?"

The 2026 Annual Town Election is scheduled for Tuesday, Apr. 7. Several elected official positions will appear on the ballot, including one open seat on the Board of Health, the only contested race.

See Also:

• Diana Haynes Enters Race For Milford’s Lone Contested Seat On Board Of Health