Why are you running?
I have lived in Grafton my entire life and am proud to call Grafton my home, so the short answer is that I love this town and I am passionate about giving back and serving our great community. I have served on over a dozen boards and committees during my 26 years of service to our town, 12 of those years serving previously on the Select Board. I want to continue my town service and bring all of that knowledge and and experience back to the Select Board to help the current Select Board and our administration make the best decisions possible for out town’s future.
What are the three biggest issues facing the Select Board in order of importance?
Our town will always face issues and challenges through the years, and those issue will change over time. Here are the 3 most important issues I see at this time in Grafton.
1.. Having our schools and municipality perform at high level to serve our children and residents without overburdening the taxpayers.
2. Finding the best balance between preserving open space, and new, thoughtful residential growth, while maintaining the character, charm and quality of life we enjoy here in Grafton
3. Continue to be innovative and focused to find ways to increase our commercial tax base in Grafton. This effort will go a long way to a sustainable financial future for Grafton.
It’s becoming more likely that an operational override will be on the ballot in 2025. Would you support an override? Why or Why not?
There is a lot of work and several steps the Select Board, School Committee, School Superintendent and Town Administrator would need to go through before placing a 3rd operational override on the 2025 Town Meeting agenda for the residents to consider. If after doing the necessary work and looking over possible options, it was clear that we needed additional funds to properly operate our schools, then yes I would support putting an override option in front of the Grafton voters at Town Meeting. Ultimately, it is the residents that come to Town meeting who make the decision on whether an override gets approved or not. Our responsibility as the leadership of this town is to give the residents the power to make that choice.
What steps should the Select Board take to keep spending under control?
This topic will certainly need to be a team effort with the Select Board and Town Administrator leading the discussions. We will need creative ideas, like expanding our “Shared Services” with neighboring communities as well as between our school department and the municipal side of our town government operations. The Shared Services Committee is something I championed previously in my service on the Select Board and I believe there is much more we can do to help our town run more efficiently.
What is your vision for North Grafton? South Grafton?
I believe over the years we have finally become One Community! My visions for South and North would be the same as my vision for the center. We must find ways to preserve and celebrate the history of those areas of town, while investing in the assets that exist to increase the quality of life for neighboring residents.
What is your relevant experience to serve on the Select Board?
I have served on over a dozen different town committees over the past 26 years, including 3 years on the Grafton Planning Board and 12 years on the Select Board. This wide range of experience gives me a great understanding on how the town works from the inside out. During those years I have experience just about everything you could possibly think of when it comes to the challenges faced by out town.. In addition to my town service experience, I have been a GM and Executive Director in my professional life for the past 32 years. My responsibilities in these roles includes Budgets, P&L, operation’s, union contract negotiation, human resources, sales, maintenances and production. My role and responsibilities in my professional life are very similar to the role of our Town Administrator. This experience give me great knowledge and experience I can bring to the Select Board and our towns central office administration.
