Today is an important anniversary for me.
Twenty-four years ago today - April 2, 1984 - I was elected to the School Committee in Sharon, Massachusetts. I had turned 22 the previous November - and so was the youngest elected official in the history of the Town of Sharon to that time.
I was elected to a one-year term to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of a member of the School Committee. One year later, I was elected to a three-year term of my own. I served two years of that term. I resigned from the School Committee in the spring of 1987 at the age of 25. I had gotten married the previous summer - and my wife and I decided to move away from Sharon.
My three years on the Sharon School Committee was the beginning of a career that has focused on city and town government. In 1986, I went to work for the Massachusetts Division of Local Services, where I provided technical assistance on financial matters to Massachusetts cities and towns. Three years later, I started with Shawmut Bank, where I began working as a financial advisor to cities and towns on borrowing issues. I have been in that line of work ever since.
With the experience and knowledge that I've gained over the past 24 years, I am ready - if I am elected to the West Brookfield Board of Selectmen on May 6 - to start working immediately for the people of West Brookfield. I would come into office with ideas and a vision for West Brookfield's town government. I believe that I would combine fresh ideas, strength of principle, and an ability to forge good working relationships in a way that would make me an effective Selectman from day one.
This year's town election is an important one for West Brookfield. For the first time in five years, West Brookfield will be electing a new Selectman. This is happening at a time when we face possibly the worst recession since World War II. Indeed, West Brookfield is beginning to face the financial pressures that other Massachusetts communities have been facing. With my local government finance background, I believe that I am the strongest candidate for Selectman in this environment.
And so I ask the people of West Brookfield for their votes on May 6.
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