I believe I will have more time free up prior to Election Day, and if anyone has questions about my picks I would be happy to elaborate.
We have three uncontested town-wide races this year. I unreservedly endorse Stephanie Lucarelli for Town Clerk, Mary Winstanley O’Connor for Assessor, and Daniel Brosnan for the Arlington Housing Authority.
Town Treasurer
We have a rare contested race for Town Treasurer this year, with incumbent Stephen Gilligan facing challenger Julie Dunn.
I endorse Julie Dunn.
Stephen Gilligan has his detractors in town.
(see some background here: YourArlington.com)
He also has equal numbers of stalwart supporters.
The ranks of both his detractors and supporters are full of reasonable, smart, and respected people in town.
My view: no matter where you come down on debates about whether Mr. Gilligan has done well for the town or not, this is the sort of professional-office-yet-elected-position that benefits greatly from periodic house-cleaning.
I do not believe it serves Arlington's interests for the office of Town Treasurer to be a job for life.
It is a rare thing to have a sharp, qualified candidate such as Julie Dunn step up and ask for this job.
Let's give it to her.
Even if every complaint made by Mr. Gilligan's detractors were false, Arlington benefits from fresh perspective and energy brought by a qualified professional such as Julie Dunn.
Board of Selectmen
Two incumbents and one challenger are running for two seats on the Board of Selectmen this year: Diane Mahon, Dan Dunn, and Bob Tosi.
I endorse the two incumbents.
Both Mahon and Dunn fill important roles on the board.
Diane Mahon brings a passion for communicating with people and serving in the unofficial role of "Constituent Services Chair" on the board.
Dan Dunn is wicked smart, an effective innovator, and holds strong personal values in line with transparency and fair access.
It would be a loss for Arlington if either one of these two did not remain on the Board.
It was just two years ago that I happily endorsed Bob Tosi as candidate for the Board of Selectmen.
In a five-way race for two open seats, Joe Curro was a clear choice, and Steven Byrne ended up getting the second seat.
At the time I did not feel we knew enough about Mr. Byrne for me to endorse him (I have been pleasantly pleased so far on that front, and suspect I will endorse Mr. Byrne's re-election when the time comes).
Mr. Tosi on the other hand has a long resume of valued service to Arlington.
Unfortunately there is not a current member of the Board that I would want to kick off in exchange for Mr. Tosi.
I also feel it shows an unfortunate lack of political acumen for him to choose to run again this year, especially since he has failed to make a case for firing either of the other two candidates.
If you are going to attempt to take a job away from people that already hold it, you need to give the voters a better reason than "I'd be good at it too."
Further, if you are going to be effective in a political office, you need to show sufficient political wisdom to know when to enter the fray, and when not to do so.
In a sense, Mr. Tosi's choice to run this year against two popular and valued incumbents is the most effective argument against choosing to place him in a political office.
There is an outside chance in the demographic-algebra that drives Arlington electoral politics that Mr. Tosi makes a run up the middle and actually does secure a seat on the Board this year.
If he does, I fear the political costs will make him a much less effective member of the Board than he would have been had he chose a better time to make his move.
Essentially it is my opinion that if he wins, he fails, and if he does not win, he loses.
With the service he has provided Arlington over the years, it is my hope that we haven't seen the last of him with this election.
But he still doesn't get my vote. Not this time.
School Committee
There are four candidates running for three seats on the School Committee this year.
Bill Hayner and Paul Schlichtman are both incumbents that should easily and rightly be re-elected.
Michael Buckley has come back to run again, having been defeated last year.
Jennifer Susse is running for the first time.
I'm voting for Bill Hayner, Paul Schlichtman, and Jennifer Susse.
Jennifer Susse has been active in school related organizations, and is also a Town Meeting member in Precinct 3.
She is incredibly bright and energetic.
She is also a strong independent thinker.
Jennifer Susse will make a fantastic member of the School Committee.
Town Meeting
Depending on where you live, there are some very competitive races for Town Meeting this year, with contested races in precincts 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 20 and 21.
***UPDATE: If you live in one of those precincts and want to see who is on the ballot for Town Meeting, you can view the whole official ballot for this year's Town Election from the Town Clerk's website.I am up for re-election myself in Precinct 4, but with four candidates running for four seats, I need only hope that my penchant for sometimes saying out-loud what would be more expedient to keep to myself has not encouraged a spirited write-in campaign to unseat me.
Here's the link: Official Ballot
Of all the other precincts experiencing competitive races this year, for now I will only speak on Precinct 7.
I hope that the voters in Precinct 7 will choose to send Theodore W. Sharpe, Sheri A. Baron, Timothy M. Hughes, and Andrew P. Bengtson to Town Meeting this year.
If you live in Precinct 7, write those four names down and take them with you to the polls on Saturday, April 5th.
Here they are again, so seriously: grab a pen or pencil and write this down:
- Theodore W. Sharpe
- Sheri A. Baron
- Timothy M. Hughes
- Andrew P. Bengtson
There are two other candidates for Town Meeting from Precinct 7 this year that Arlington would be well served to not have at the meetings:
Christopher P. Loreti and Mark H. Kaepplein
Others have more colorful names for them, but I lump both of them into a category of members I simply call "ax-grinders."
There is a small but exceedingly vocal minority at Town Meeting whose only discernible purpose is to pursue their own personal vendettas.
They are what I call the Arlington Tea Party.
They are for nothing, but against much.
Arlington needs its critics.
Arlington does not need its critics sabotaging the work of Town Meeting.
Those are my endorsements (and anti-endorsements) for Town Election this year.
Please remember to vote on Saturday, April 5th.
If you might be out of town, remember that you can go into Town Hall and vote an absentee ballot.
Thank you for your recommendations for Pct 7. I am relatively new to that neighborhood and don't know who these people are, so it's great to have your perspective! I totally agree with your endorsements for Treasurer, Selectman and School Committee. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to be of help! Be sure and share your perspective with your neighbors, too. What happens at Town Meeting impacts our community as much or more than what happens in any other branch of government. Yet in our busy lives, many don't know much about their Town Meeting members.
DeleteLiz, you have been given bad information. I am for many things including honesty, transparency, and accountability in government. I am for the town actively soliciting and following the will of residents via ballot questions, surveys, and questionnaires of important questions worded fairly. I voted to remove kindergarten fees, new football helmets to reduce concussions, and to support the democratic process by asking voters how many travel lanes on Mass Ave with a ballot question. I am not a member of the tea party, have never owned a gun or a survival bunker, never gone hunting, or been a member of any political party. I can't speak for Chris Loreti, but I am very impressed with the amount of research he does prior to Town Meeting votes, especially confusing complicated zoning regulations. We are probably not liked for researching issues and asking tough questions, as evidenced by Mr. Beal singling us out from all the people running for town meeting in 21 precincts.
Delete"Arlington does not need its critics sabotaging the work of Town Meeting." The work of Town Meeting is to hear different points of view before coming to a decision. I welcome hearing other opinions that differ from mine. It is sad that you don't. (For the record, I usually don't agree with Mark or Chris, but I value having them there.)
ReplyDeleteFirst, I thank you for taking the time to read visit my site and read my post.
DeleteI also welcome hearing opinions that differ from mine. Often, they sway my vote.
The difference is in my lack of appreciation for opinions that are motivated by opposition to individuals within our town, if not the whole of our established government.
As I said in an earlier post from last year:
"If everyone would approach issues from the perspective of what was right for Arlington, rather than how they might "score points" in petty battles over mole-hills, Town Meeting would better serve its residents."
I am of the opinion that these two, and a few others, are more motivated by "scoring-points" in personal battles that have no real role to play in our town government.
I use the term "Arlington Tea Party," not to suggest a shared ideology with the Tea Party we see in national politics, but to suggest a shared behavior: opposition for the sake of opposition, rather than truly searching for solutions to and ideas that move our town forward.
You do realize that hughes is as conservative as loreti right???
ReplyDeleteI've not found myself too concerned about labels like "conservative" and "liberal" in town politics. The issues we deal with can sometimes be traced back to traditional divisions we see in national politics, but mostly we are all neighbors figuring what is best for our town.
DeleteWhat I want to see are members that put forth honest and fair arguments, positions on issues tied to those issues, rather than positions being motivated by old grudges or just knee-jerk opposition to anything that comes out of Town Hall.
We'll see soon enough what choices new members choose to take.