For Town Council I endorse:

It was only two years ago during the last Town Council election when so many of us came together to show Walmart the door. And here we are now with a great opportunity to have a real election. It was refreshing to attend the League of Women Voters debate this past Sunday and hear each incumbent defend their record and every challenger make their case for change. It is so great that we have so many new people running for Councilor at Large who have fresh ideas about how make our town a better place to live. For Michael Dattoli, Aaron Dushku and Tony Palomba the number one issue is education: As Guido Guidotti, candidate for school committee said during the debate, "they built a new police station and a new DPW, but if you asked any company to come and relocate in the buildings that house any of our schools, they would never come because the buildings are a dump." Education should be the highest priority of our town. Whether we are parents or homeowners, renters or retired, we all recognize that education is the seed of democracy. The schools are our commitment as a community to enable our children to fulfill their dreams, to engender creativity, to obtain the tools to become well rounded citizens that inevitably leads to a career, a life path. The future of Watertown depends on the quality of our educational system and how much we support it. Recent budgets presented by the Town Manager and supported by the current Council do not adequately reflect this priority.

We are going to need economic development consistent with the Comprehensive Plan to provide more revenue and thus more money for our schools. Our $3 million unpaid investment in Victory Field was a wrong turn. The gross overdevelopment on Pleasant Street has not only created a traffic nightmare but has put additional strains on our schools, which are now filled to capacity. And building a 100' cell tower is not the kind of "development" that is of any use. There are promising significant developments on Arsenal Street that could serve the town well as long as we citizens are vigilant and participate in the process. With this potential additional revenue we need Councilors who will not be afraid to redirect the priorities of the town budget to better reflect the needs of Watertown's future.

So for this election I'm strongly supporting Dattoli, Dushku and Palomba. And I hope you will, too. In addition to making education a high priority both Dattoli and Dushku call for budgetary transparency. The Town Manager's budget is confusing and misleading. When I looked at it as a candidate two years ago it was disaster of disorganization. We need a clear understanding of how our money is being spent that is consistent across all departments. Dattoli and Dushku call for economic development with an emphasis on locally owned sustainable green businesses. Dushku has a strong interest in re-imagining the town's relationship to the Charles River, and to protecting wetlands and conservation. A couple years ago when Tony Palomba gave the Town Manager a negative evaluation he was criticized not only by his Council colleagues, which in itself is inappropriate, but also by the Town Manager, himself. Perhaps after 33 years the Manager doesn't recognize whom he's working for. Palomba has been a strong advocate for increased funding for education. He has ideas about how to better utilize the revenue that we have. He's strong on environmental issues and has innovative ideas about creating more public communication about how the town departments work for us. I appreciate Susan Falkoff's good work, and recognize Paul Fahey's pragmatic attitude. There are four places for Councilor at Large. But first and foremost we need Dattoli, Dushku and Palomba to begin to move this Town Council in new directions. On November 5 let's vote!