Incumbent Board of Health Member Collin Seeks Full Three-Year Term in May Election

NORFOLK — April 18, 2026 — Norfolk Board of Health member John Bowman Collin is seeking a three-year term in the May 5 town election, citing tobacco regulation passage and a push for cross-board collaboration. Collin, completing a one-year term, appeared in a Norfolk Community Television candidate interview on April 18 and described the board's tobacco regulation work as his top accomplishment, while acknowledging the final rule differed from initial proposals. He said Norfolk's boards operate in silos and pointed to the town's solar farm situation as a case where earlier Board of Health involvement would have helped — "there's some stuff at play there that I wish was discussed five and six years ago." Collin, who chairs the Norfolk Dems, drew on more than 30 years in human resources and health and safety roles, including pandemic-era laboratory oversight, as the basis for his interest in public health governance. Early voting opens April 24 at the Freeman Kennedy School.