Ward 5 candidates address local residents
By Barbara Polan Managing Editor

John deBairos

Marlborough - On Tuesday May 6, residents in Marlborough's Ward 5 will head to the polls to select a new city councilor. The seat has been empty since November 2007, when Maura Navin Webster resigned from the elected post to take a position with the American Heart Association.

Two candidates are on the ballot: John deBairos and Robert Seymour. We asked them to address our readers and respond to these questions: (1) What type of experience/personal traits do you feel makes you a qualified candidate for this position? and (2) What is the most significant problem the city faces today, and how do you plan to remedy that problem?

The following are the statements submitted by the candidates.

John deBairos

I'm John deBairos and I was, and am, a lifelong resident of Ward Five. My wife Gloria and I were married for 28 years and I've been a widower for 23 years. We lived in Ward Five and had two businesses there.

As a veteran of Korea and graduate of Marlborough schools, I've always been active in the community. Retired in 1995, I attended UMass through the veteran's education program.

Robert Seymour

I feel I will bring a lot to the office of City Councilor and enjoy communicating with all people. My attachment to the community is deep and it's important that we grow and prosper yet are aff ordable.

We, as a community, need to use our resources more wisely and be energy efficient in all areas; commercial, municipal, and residential. Energy costs are on an upward spiral and won't return to the past aff ordable levels.

In this atmosphere of abundance and consumption we have not considered what eff ect our behavior has on the world. Depletion of resources and pollution of environment clouds the future of generations to come. Let's turn our mountain of trash into a shining city on the hill.

Robert Seymour

As Director of Operations and Oversight for Early Childhood Programs and Services for Children with Special Health Needs for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, I manage a budget exceeding $100 million. My responsibility to the taxpayers is ensuring that public funds are used efficiently while maintaining exceptional services for our children. This requires balancing our fiscal realities with the needs of families requiring critical services.

As a School Committee Member, I have always stressed that elected officials accomplish more by working collaboratively and exercising common sense, while always living within our financial means.

In addition to continued fiscal restraint, our City's future financial health is dependent upon our continued commercial growth, and the revitalization of the vacant commercial buildings and underutilized parcels in our Ward. Expanding our commercial tax base will reduce the tax burden on homeowners. Our commercial tax base cannot expand significantly until the mandated upgrade of our City's wastewater treatment plants is completed. This essential upgrade to our infrastructure will potentially cost $80 million. The job of your next Ward Councilor will be to work collaboratively to provide for the expansion opportunities that our City needs while minimizing the financial impact on our homeowners.