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Thank you and hello neighbors and friends. I am running for state representative to serve you, to help restore the sense of community in our towns, and to create a better future for you and all the citizens of our Commonwealth.
I live in Wayland, across the street from the Wayland High School. I have four daughters – 10 year old triplets and a kindergartner, all of whom attend Happy Hollow Elementary school. My mother-in-law lives just down the road from us, also in Wayland.
My wife Sarah and I both work full time. I’m currently a senior vice-president at a Fortune 500 company. I volunteer as a soccer coach, and I help provide a grounding in morals and ethics for children at the church I attend in Lincoln.
Recently, I’ve been running door-to-door to over 4,000 homes to listen to you, to hear about your families, your concerns, and what you want from a state representative. What I hear from you is this: times have changed, and our towns are facing significant challenges.
You and I want our children to get a great education in our public schools, but we don’t have enough school funding from the state. Seniors on fixed incomes are finding it difficult to make ends meet because of rising property taxes. Couples want to maintain open spaces in our towns, so that they can have an occasional walk through the woods during summer evenings.
Given the changes and challenges we are facing, we have an opportunity to elect a state representative who will be effective, someone with an eye toward the future.
We need a state rep who can balance the public services that we need here in our towns with private sector growth throughout the state. We need a state rep who can bring best practices to state government to generate more non-tax revenues at the state level, so that we can get the funding we need for our schools at the local level. We need a state rep who can work effectively with the legislative leadership and the governor in order to grow the economy, create new jobs, preserve our environment, and hold down our property taxes. I am that person, and my passion for public service will be directed toward effective service to you, the residents of Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland. I will be your advocate and your champion.
This election is not about me, it’s about you. It’s not about the past, it’s about the future. It’s not about just showing up and taking credit for formula grants, it about real effectiveness in addressing the challenges we face as towns.
Now’s not the time for the status quo. Now is the time for change.
I have been honored to be a candidate. But I would love to be your state rep. I ask for your support.
MY TOP PRIORITY AS STATE REPRESENTATIVE IN 2007
I would bring more state aid to our towns in order to: ü maintain excellent schools for our children; ü prevent future property tax increases, particularly for our seniors; ü preserve the environment in our towns; and ü maintain valuable public services.
Many supporters say that I am the best candidate for the job of State Representative because I can effectively address the significant challenges we are facing as towns, many of which relate to insufficient state aid and rising property taxes: ª I have helped generate over $500 million in non-tax revenues for the Commonwealth by applying best practices to state agencies and by rigorously using information technology; ª I can work effectively with local officials, the legislative leadership on Beacon Hill, and the next governor in order to get more state aid for our towns, having worked effectively at senior levels of the federal and state governments before; and ª I have a management consulting background, an MBA, and Fortune 500 company experience that I can use to offer new ideas for expanding the Massachusetts economy, creating new jobs, and increasing commercial tax revenues.
Like many of the residents of Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland, I want to ensure that our children get a great education in our public schools so that they can have a great start in this competitive world and acquire the habit of life-long learning. This will help ensure that they get good jobs as adults and be upstanding, contributing members of our society.
But the future of our schools is at risk. We don’t have enough school funding to maintain the excellence we want for our children.
We aren’t getting enough aid from the state to provide marginal salary increases to our teachers, or keep up with the rising costs of school supplies, infrastructure needs, or transportation and utility costs for our schools.
Excellence in education requires adequate funding so our children can learn within great schools from superb teachers. That’s what I’ve heard in speaking with parents at their doorsteps while running from door to door. School committee members with whom I’ve spoken in each of the towns say the same. Teachers of my own four daughters at the Happy Hollow elementary school in Wayland repeat the refrain: we’re not getting the state aid we need. The facts support the point: Republican governors have cut state aid to our towns by almost $700 million since 2001. If I am elected state representative, my highest priority will be to generate more state aid for our towns, something that our existing state representative, Susan Pope, has been unable to do. I know that I can be effective: · I have helped generate over $500 million in non-tax revenues for the Commonwealth by applying best practices to state agencies and by rigorously using information technology; · I can work effectively with local officials, the legislative leadership on Beacon Hill, and the next governor in order to get more state aid for our towns, having worked effectively at senior levels of the federal and state governments before; and · I have a management consulting background, an MBA, and Fortune 500 company experience that I can use to offer new ideas for expanding the Massachusetts economy, creating new jobs, and increasing commercial tax revenues.
In Wayland, our almost 50 year old high school is in need of repair and, likely, rebuilding.
I was an active member two years ago in an effort to review financing mechanisms for rebuilding the high school. The clear conclusion was that we need the state’s School Building Assistance Program funding to do it. We need to get that program (which has been shut down for the past few years), restarted so that we can get matching state dollars for the rebuilding effort in order to hold down local property taxes.
We need adequate funding for the special education circuit breaker program for families with children who have special needs.
For these families, it’s difficult facing the everyday challenges. I will work to make their situation more equitable, more like the rest of us, and less burdensome.
We need to correct the imbalance that seems to exist in our schools today in terms of over-emphasizing testing at the expense of learning and teaching.
I believe in testing, and setting high standards, but the reporting requirements are overly burdensome and insufficiently funded from federal and/or state sources, and too often waste valuable teaching time, only confirming what we already know at the local level. One of the most distinguished educators to have worked in Wayland, Dick Shea, estimated that 25% of teachers’ time is spend on testing. That’s not the right balance between testing and learning for our children.
We must also focus our attention on the threat of guns in our schools. Can we imagine the tragedies of Columbine and the Amish country in Pennsylvania being repeated in our schools in Lincoln, Sudbury, or Wayland? We need more oversight of gun ownership, stricter licensing requirements, and stronger efforts to stop the flow of illegal firearms into our state. We need a state representative who worries more about sensible regulation of firearms and less about achieving the endorsement of the NRA. We don’t have that now, and that’s placing all of our children at risk.
Educational excellence is a hallmark of our towns and our Commonwealth. It’s one of the most important reasons many of us live in Lincoln, Sudbury or Wayland. Our challenge is to improve our schools, without simply raising property taxes. As your state representative, I can help lead the way in ensuring that our schools are well-supported, well-funded, and safe.
INCOME TAXES AND RISING PROPERTY TAXES
The ballot question on the income tax rollback from 5.85% to 5% over a three year period was voted on in 2000, when the economy was booming, the state was flush with funding, and the dotcom era was heralding an entirely new kind of economy. A few things happened since 2000: the dotcom boom went bust; the economy sunk into a recession and the tragedy of September 11 occurred. Due to these factors, the state was no longer flush with funding.
The legislature, nevertheless, rolled back the tax from 5.85% to 5.3% in 2002, a cut of nearly 10%. Since then, more than $700 million in state aid to towns has dried up, leaving us with no choice but to raise property taxes to support schools and public services in our towns. A further rollback of income taxes would inexorably lead to further property tax increases, more contention in the towns, and more anger, frustration and divisiveness within our communities. I do not sense from my conversations on doorsteps, that the people of Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland want that.
PROPERTY TAX RELIEF FOR SENIORS
My mother in law lives in Wayland, just down the road from us. She’s part of the family and she’s been a great help with the kids. Unfortunately, each year, she’s seeing her social security checks eroded by rising property taxes. She keeps threatening to move out of town, far away. I don’t want her to move away -- I know some of you guys out there might find that hard to believe. Instead, I want her to get some relief.
There are a couple of types of relief currently available to the elderly in order to reduce the burden of their property taxes. The first program is circuit breaker relief, which is matched by town dollars in Wayland, and which could amount to over $1,500 in relief from property taxes, far more than any override would add to a tax bill.
A second program is similar to a reverse mortgage on property taxes. Seniors who qualify can defer payment of property taxes until their house is sold, at which time the back taxes can be paid off with the capital gains received from the sale of the house.
I urge seniors to explore these options, and to reach out to the assessors in the three town offices. They are prepared and interested in helping in any way possible.
Beyond these solutions, we can bring more state aid back to the district in order to prevent overrides and property tax increases that seem to be occurring on an almost annual basis. Towns have lost over $700 million in state aid in the past four years, and that kind of funding needs to be restored. Even with the increases in state aid to towns in the 2007 budget, we’re still nearly $500 million short of the funding levels we had in 2001 and 2002.
If we can get more state aid, we can provide more relief for the elderly on fixed incomes and prevent further property tax increases.
Unfortunately, with a steep drop in state aid, we’re facing overrides every spring, and property tax increases year after year. We’ve had horrible divisiveness in our towns with mean-spirited comments between neighbors. We’ve had senior citizens feeling powerless and angry, and parents feeling frightened. Times have changed at the local level.
At the state level, we face increasingly complicated challenges. Economically, there’s an ever-increasing competitiveness with other states for jobs and businesses; each and every state is trying to lure jobs away from other states. In terms of crime, we’re seeing more violence and murders in Boston, where many of us work. We see more people deciding to move out of Massachusetts, a disturbing trend.
We also face complex opportunities, such as how to help the state lead the nation in the development and distribution of clean and renewable energy.
We need leaders with broader backgrounds, deeper experience, and sophisticated training to address these changing times effectively.
With change at the state representative level, the situation can only improve. Right now, we have a Republican representative who has no seat at the table of important decisions in the legislature, no real or effective voice of advocacy for our towns or for new ideas at the state level, and no apparent willingness or long-term commitment to engage on these tough issues.
We need engaged leadership from our state representative, with the emphasis on service and not ceremony. We need someone like me who is willing to roll up his sleeves and get engaged on these challenging issues, and provide positive results for all three generations in our towns. This can be achieved in the form of property tax relief for seniors, comfort around the community’s long-term well-being for parents, and attending great schools for children.
STRENGTHENING THE MASSACHUSETTS ECONOMY
Our state government can, in partnership with the private sector, create jobs in our state and strengthen the Massachusetts economy for the benefit of all its citizens.
The Commonwealth should sustain and improve its position as a leader in several industries: technology, health care, money management, education, biotechnology, and retail. We have a competitive advantage in these industries for a variety of reasons, and we must preserve those advantages.
First, we should seek to add renewable energy to this list of industries, to promote significant job growth and take advantage of the natural and human resources that currently exist in our Commonwealth. We are on the verge of either seizing or missing this opportunity; let’s be proactive and take the lead on reducing our dependence on oil and coal and reap the substantial benefits of being first to market renewable energy.
Second, we can foster an environment that rewards bold moves, exceptional talent, innovation, and new growth. We can explore student loan relief for the best and brightest from our state universities if they pledge to start new businesses peripheral to core industries here in the Commonwealth. We can provide “best practice” job training and skill building programs so that newly-trained talent can participate in these new and expanding businesses.
Third, we should explore public-private partnerships to create new businesses. I worked in one here in Massachusetts, assisting the state bring in over $500 million in non-tax revenues in the late 1990s. The key was aligning the incentives of the public and private entities, so that they were collaborating toward achieving a common goal. All of the people of Massachusetts benefited: we kept taxes from rising and kept more children off the streets, instead placing them in better homes.
INDEPENDENCE, OBJECTIVITY, AND SPECIAL INTERESTS
Special interests are threatening the integrity of our government. I have not sought the endorsement of any special interest groups. I have not taken any special interest money. In fact, I have turned down special interest money, despite the fact that my opponent has stockpiled tens of thousands of dollars and no doubt will outspend me in this campaign.
I will not cater to special interests. I will be an independent, objective, and honest legislator, whose primary focus will be service to you, the residents of Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland. My commitment to you is demonstrated by the kind of campaigning I have done: door to door, house to house, running, and getting tired because it’s hard work, but also becoming energized by speaking with you, listening to your concerns, hearing your needs, and understanding the challenges you are facing as parents, seniors, and residents of our towns.
There is a delicate balancing act in our towns regarding diversity and affordable housing. I believe that diversity can be a good thing. The cost of living in our state continues to rise, and affordable housing is one way to address this issue, particularly for our seniors. Affordable housing can also help our economy grow and stop the continual flow of some of our best and brightest from leaving the state because the cost of housing is too high.
The state’s funding approach to affordable housing is not in synch with our local approach or priorities.
Lincoln wants to create affordable housing options that are consistent with the character of the town, but the state regulations prevent this from occurring because the regulations and funding don’t recognize the town’s approach. State funding encourages the development of huge, multi-family housing units. In our towns, we prefer smaller developments, on smaller plots of land.
This problem, with both the state and the town sharing the same objectives, could have and should have been resolved by our state rep sometime during the past ten years, but it has not.
Our towns need to have more housing made affordable to the middle class so that they are not excluded from living among us. Too often, firefighters, police officers, and teachers who work in towns like Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland can’t afford to live in those same towns.
I want to address the state funding parameters for affordable housing to help our towns.
The health care system is broken, and the law recently passed here in Massachusetts is a step in the right direction toward fixing it. As a state, we took a leadership role, and I applaud that.
Most of us agree on the goals for health care:
ª Quality: high quality health care - we want the best possible care for our families and ourselves;
ª Access: universal access to health care - it will lower the overall costs of providing health care;
ª Choice: the ability to stay with the doctors of our choice; and
ª Affordability: affordable health care for everyone.
Fortunately, we already have high-quality care here in Massachusetts, and universal access, is what the recent legislation addresses the most. It’s a delicately balanced law that seeks an element of compromise from many of the stakeholders: patients, doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and businesses. I think any future health care solution will require all of those stakeholders to continue to make compromises so that we can work towards addressing the goals of improved choice and affordability in our high quality health care system.
I am against the death penalty, and my opponent has consistently voted for it. I believe that elected officials should govern with a sense of humility, and that means not making tragic mistakes with the death penalty. There have been too many cases where DNA tests have proved the innocence of those on death row or those who tragically have already been killed. The death penalty does not deter crime. It does not keep our streets safer. It does not save money.
We need to focus more attention on the threat of guns to public safety, particularly in our schools. Imagine if one of the tragedies of Columbine or the Amish country in Pennsylvania were repeated in one of our schools in Lincoln, Sudbury, or Wayland.
I acknowledge that there are responsible hunters and sportsmen among us. However, we need more oversight of gun ownership because not everyone is so responsible. We need stricter licensing requirements, and stronger efforts to stop the flow of illegal firearms into our state.
We need a state representative who worries more about sensible regulation of firearms and less about achieving an endorsement from the NRA or the Gun Owners Action League. It is not clear that my opponent, based on her voting record and endorsements, would approve of any restrictions at all on anyone’s access to guns. Are her votes placing our children at risk?
Between 1979 and 2001, over 90,000 children were killed in this country by guns. Let’s think really hard about what kind of society we want. I know I want to raise my children in a very safe environment, and I believe other parents want the same.
My opponent sought to outlaw marriage equality by supporting an amendment to the Massachusetts State Constitution in 2004. Supporters of this amendment and similar efforts seem to believe that some of us deserve more rights than others. Many in this country thought that way prior to a 1967 Supreme Court decision that allowed inter-racial marriage, which previously was illegal. There has been no evidence of this forty year old decision undermining the institution of marriage, as opponents alleged. Nor over the past two years here in Massachusetts, has there been any collapse of our culture, or ripping apart of the moral fabric of our society, as opponents of marriage equality alleged. I support marriage equality because the Constitution protects the fundamental rights of all its citizens. Why would we want to amend it to be discriminatory? I oppose putting this question on the ballot here in Massachusetts, because fundamental human rights should never be subjected to a popularity contest. That’s why the Bill of Rights was written, and why we have courts and a judicial system. If we had put segregation to a ballot question in the south fifty years ago, the south would have chosen segregation, and that’s not right. We can also look at this issue with the glass half full: preserving marriage equality gives more people the opportunity to express their loyalty to each other, honor their commitments, and uphold the values of marriage. That’s not so bad, is it?
Many people may have family or friends who have died of Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, heart disease, leukemia, or other fatal diseases. Stem cell research has great potential to uncover the mysteries behind tragic diseases like these, and offer cures.
Significant stem cell research is ongoing with somatic, or adult stem cells, the use of which does not pose ethical problems. I support progress in this area.
I also understand that there are moral and ethical questions around embryonic stem cells use. As a person of faith, I do not take these concerns lightly. Any research that is conducted must maintain an ethical component.
We have great scientists in Massachusetts who have significant expertise in stem cell research. I believe that we can support these scientists, and maintain a watchful and ethical eye on the research through reporting and regulatory requirements. This would ensure that human beings are not be used in experiments that could result in their death. The benefits of stem cell research are significant for our families, our loved ones, and our economy.
Our natural environment is a precious and finite resource. It is the foundation of our quality of life and of our capacity to pursue the common good. Protecting our environment, therefore, should be a top priority on our public policy agenda. Unfortunately, too often this is not the case for our government and industry leaders, in part because it is a challenging, or "inconvenient" issue, as Al Gore calls it. Yet almost everyone agrees that we must safeguard our parks, fields, open spaces, marshes, and waterways and conserve natural resources -- with a sense of proportion, restraint, discipline, and balance -- in ways that protect our environment, create new jobs, and ultimately enhance our national security.
The challenge of preserving the environment is often inconvenient because it requires thinking beyond the short term, and because it involves so many powerful stakeholders: municipalities, states, nations, and major industries including housing, water distribution, manufacturing, automobiles, oil and gas, fishing, electrical power generation, mining, and lumber among others.
Our environment is clearly the underdog when it comes to the influence of such mighty and important interests. This is why support from citizens at the grassroots level and from local public officials is so important to environmental conservation.
Locally, preserving the environment can mean prudent zoning policies and practices. The Conservation Commissions in Lincoln, Sudbury and Wayland perform admirable services on behalf of our towns by utilizing the Wetlands and Water Resources Bylaws to protect our water supply, wildlife, and natural habitat. With the Wayland Town Center project, we have both a responsibility and opportunity to promote “green” development; ensuring that natural materials are used as much as possible, storm water runoff is minimized, and the architectural character of the development is in keeping with Wayland’s environmental ethos. The developer might even find it advantageous to explore a partnership with Russell’s Garden Center across the street that sets a new standard for environmentally sound development.
Within our towns of Lincoln, Sudbury, and Wayland, it is also important to preserve open space. To this end, the Sudbury Valley Trustees and the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust have purchased or protected thousands of acres of land so that we, our children, and our children’s children can enjoy them. In fact, towns like ours that are interested in balancing development with open space preservation, could use more extensive or creative financing at the state level to continue to purchase undeveloped land. Were I elected state representative; I would explore new financing mechanisms for open space land purchase that would reap long term benefits for the common good.
We should also be good stewards of our natural resources, such as our lakes and ponds and rivers and forests. Lake Cochituate and Dudley Pond milfoil clean up efforts could be designed in accordance with best practices that are developed at the state level, which has access to what 300 additional towns in the Commonwealth are doing to eradicate the milfoil weed. The Raytheon clean up should be actively managed to ensure it occurs on time and appropriately; this could be an opportunity for a state representative to demonstrate leadership and pro-activity. In addition, we should prevent the problem from recurring by ensuring that hazardous materials are never again produced in our communities.
Preserving our environment also means making smart and ecologically sound investment decisions. At the state level, we should invest in renewable energy sources and clean power generation. Massachusetts has a great opportunity, with our scientists, entrepreneurs, private capital, and natural resources, to be a leader in the development of clean energy. We should explore public-private partnerships, working with all those industries that have a stake in the environment, to create a statewide competitive advantage that accrues economic and environmental benefits to all of us in the Commonwealth. Investments in new wind and solar technologies can create new jobs and new sources of energy for our businesses and our homes. Indeed, Massachusetts can be a leader in helping our nation shift from using coal and oil to cleaner fuel production. This would reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and thereby enhance our national security.
As individuals, we must lead by example through simple, yet important activities: buying hybrid and fuel-efficient cars, diligently recycling plastic and paper goods, conserving water, using natural instead of chemical lawn fertilizers, and building houses with “green” materials and features. In small ways, as a group of citizens at the grassroots level, we can make a big difference in preserving our environment. Let’s demand more from our elected officials and from the businesses at which we work, and push an “inconvenient” topic toward the top of our public policy agenda. If elected, conservation for the common good will be one of my top priorities. Our towns, our environment, and our children deserve it.
BALANCE IN THE STATE LEGISLATURE
Balance can be achieved by voting for a state rep who has both public and private sector experience, someone who will balance public service needs with the investments we need to grow the economy, and create more jobs. That’s meaningful balance, not just balance on paper.
Second, there’s the suburban vs. Boston balance that many in our towns are aware of. I am just as suburban as my opponent.
Third, there is a perception that Republicans will provide more oversight and accountability than Democrats. Don’t believe it. Look at the past 16 years of Republican governors overseeing the Big Dig. It is clear that the Republican party does not deserve the moniker “the party of fiscal responsibility and oversight.”
I understand the need for bipartisanship and balance in politics. When I worked in Washington, DC, I rewrote a resolution, ultimately passed by the US Senate, with none other than ardent Republican Jesse Helms and his staff. I did this because we wanted results; we wanted to help end apartheid in South Africa. We got the resolution passed because I worked with Senator Helms and his staff, and together we made a positive difference in this world.
Balance equates to accepting good ideas, no matter what political party they come from. I agree with Kerry Healy’s idea on pension management reform. We shouldn’t have 106 pension fund managers in this state. I’ve discussed it with the Treasurer’s office. We need reform, and I’ll push that forward.
Don’t be fooled by a listing of accomplishment by my opponent that in truth are the accomplishments of the Democratic majority in the legislature. Democrats are more popular in this state than Republicans in this state, and I’m not going to apologize for that. In fact there are a couple of good reasons why there are more Democrats than Republicans: Democrats reflect the interests and values of their constituents better. I think that’s the case in this election, in this campaign right here for State Representative.
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