The Eisenthal Report

West Brookfield Selectman Candidates Interviewed

The Quaboag Current, a weekly newspaper that covers West Brookfield and other nearby communities, ran interviews with me and my opponent in the edition that came out on Friday. These interviews, which begin near the top of the front page, were fair and well-presented. There was one minor factual issue; the paper said that I send my kids to local schools. We actually send them to a religious day school out-of-district. The Current will be running a correction in next week's edition.

Welcome to Spencer New Leader Readers

Welcome to those of you who came here because of the article in the Spencer New Leader about my campaign website, David for West Brookfield.

The focus of this blog generally is the whole world of politics, public policy, and culture, but recently my focus has been mostly on my race to win a seat on the West Brookfield Board of Selectmen.

As we get closer to Election Day in West Brookfield, May 6, I expect to comment on - and link to - more stories in the local media about the election. I'll also comment on any major events that happen in the campaign.

If you are a West Brookfield resident, please feel free to contact me by e-mail by clicking on the e-mail link in the upper left corner of this page.

Where's David? On the Stump!

Readers of TER will have noticed that I have not posted in the past week.

There have been some interesting and important events that have been worthy of comment. The Massachusetts House passing new revenue measures this week is an example. However, my focus has been mostly on my own race for Selectman in the Town of West Brookfield.

We're now 25 days from the election - it will be on May 6. Things are starting to get interesting - lawn signs for me and my opponent are popping up around West Brookfield like spring flowers. (So far, more mine than hers.)

I've been working at it. I took the advice of a client of mine who said to me, "David, you need to get out and get on the stump" - and so I have.

The Politics of Tough Choices During Tough Fiscal Times

MassInc, the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, is holding a high-profile panel discussion this coming Thursday on the politics of the budget difficulties facing Massachusetts.

The panelists include former Senate president Thomas Birmingham, former Senate Ways and Means chairwoman Patricia McGovern, former secretary of Administration and Finance and MassINC board member Thomas Trimarco and former secretary of Administration and Finance Steve Crosby. It is moderated by Jim Braude from WTTK and NECN.

The discussion will be at the Omni Parker House in Boston from 8:00 AM to 9:30 AM on Thursday, April 10.

Given the budget problems that face the Commonwealth and its cities and towns, including West Brookfield, this sounds like it should be a very interesting and timely discussion.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

On this terrible anniversary - the fortieth anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., I can do no better than to point back to a TER piece from about fifteen months ago - on the occasion of the Martin Luther King holiday in 2007.

In that piece, I wrote that

As a society, we are still sorting out his legacy - and his work is far from finished. However, if we survive as a coherent society in the coming decades and centuries - if we avoid the fate of other ethnically diverse societies such as Northern Ireland, Yugoslavia, and Rwanda - it will be in no small measure because of the work and the example of Dr. King.

An Important Personal Anniversary

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.