Page 14 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2021 ELECTION | FROM PAGE 5 to move Saugus forward. Elizabeth Marchese, a former School Committee member who finished 6th in the race for the Board of Selectmen. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the town’s most underutilized asset? This could be a facility, program, person or other resource that isn’t being used to its full potential – or used at all. As an elected official, what would you advocate to make sure Saugus residents receive the best benefit possible from this asset? A: The most underutilized asset is our Department of Public Works but ONLY because it is underfunded and understaffed. Saugus, Melrose and Wakefield all have about the same population per census of 28,000 residents. Stoneham has a population of approximately 23,500. This is NOT inclusive of renters which I am positive adds even more especially to the Saugus numbers. Our Saugus DPW has 15 active employees. Wakefield and Melrose have 35-40, and Stoneham has 29. Our DPW is responsible for road work, water, sewer, parks, and forestry. Given the new projects and improvements in our town as well as the ever increasing population, this department is completely overburdened. Imagine if it was adequately staffed? We as taxpayers have invested many taxpayer dollars into physical improvements to Saugus. We now need the work force to protect our investments and that is by adding additional man power to an already overburdened DPW. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the most urgent challenge facing Saugus town government? And as an elected selectman, what would you do to help address that challenge? A: The largest challenge facing Saugus town government is how to reduce or control the ever increasing tax burden upon our residents. Property tax and water bill rates have greatly risen this year. I fear we are slowly taxing our residents out of their homes, especially those on fixed incomes. Now add the building of the new Northeast Vocational School along with the need for a West Side Fire Station and staffing, this burden will ultimately be passed on again to our resident homeowners. It’s time to think outside of the box and find ways of bringing more revenue into Saugus to alleviate the burden on our residents. One way is to utilize our Wheelabrator Committee and to sit down to negotiate a host community agreement and/ or a landfill operations contract containing tipping fees such as is in existence with the town of Shrewsbury. Another way is to attract more businesses such as Town Meeting Member Joseph Vecchione is attempting to do with the Cliftondale Revitalization Committee. It is imperative that no matter what the results on November 2nd our government leaders work together for solutions. Darren R. McCullough, the animal control officer who finished 8th in the Board of Selectmen’s race. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the most urgent challenge facing Saugus town government? And as an elected selectman, what would you do to help address that challenge? A: I feel as though the biggest challenge facing town government is the COVID-19 pandemic we continue to face. The Covid virus has changed the way we communicate with one another, and has created many obstacles and challenges while continuing to facilitate meetings within our town government and remain a full service community. The Covid 19 virus has impacted the way we converse, govern, educate our children, and live our lives as a whole. If I was fortunate enough to be elected as a Saugus Selectmen, I would work collaboratively with the towns Public Health Director, Towns Administration and School Administration to continue making the health and safety a priority for our residents. Q: In 100 words or less, how would you grade the way the Town of SauLaw Offices of Terrence W. Kennedy 512 Broadway, Everett • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice Tel: (617) 387-9809 Cell: (617) 308-8178 twkennedylaw@gmail.com gus is being managed? Please pick one of the following: Excellent. Good. Fair. Poor. As an elected official, what would you do to help improve the level of service to town residents? A: I honestly would rate the current management, good. There is always room for improvement with any administration. I think first and foremost, the residents would want every elected official to stop the Methadone Mile from becoming part of our neighborhoods. Every official should be putting pressure on our State Representatives to stop this complete and utter disregard for our community. How can we give the residents the level of service they need if we continue to build these enormous apartment buildings? They are already putting a strain on our schools, and Police and Fire Departments. How can the residents get the level of service they need when all of our resources are being depleted? I personally feel that our community should always come first. Domenic Montano, a Saugus Police Officer and former Board of Selectmen candidate who finished 7th in the Board of Selectmen’s race. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the most urgent challenge facing Saugus town government? And as an elected selectman, what would you do to help address that challenge? A: Opioid Epidemic and Public Safety Staffing. The town needs to get ahead of the opioid epidemic by having services in town for these individuals so that together, we can assist families in need. Public safety staffing needs to be considered with first responders, (Fire, Police, EMS) responding to these calls. I would like the town to consider the DPW and its workers. I believe that they are severely understaffed, making emergencies in town, where they respond to, increasingly difficult (i.e. fallen trees, plowing, sanding). Drawing attention to these issues is something that I would address as an elected Selectman. Q: In 75 words or less, what is the single most important reason why you have decided to run for the Saugus Board of Selectmen this year? A: I feel as though it is my mission to continue to be a voice for the community. I dedicate my time to being involved in town and being a role model for our youth. I want to be the voice for our seniors, veterans and disabled community while continuing to maintain a strong presence in town and making a more vibrant downtown. I want to see to Saugus as a beautiful place for years to come. Former Animal Control Officer Harry Young, who finished 9th in the Board of Selectmen’s race. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the town’s most underutilized asset? This could be a facility, program, person or other resource that isn’t being used to its full potential – or used at all. As an elected official, what would you advocate to make sure Saugus residents receive the best benefit possible from this asset? A: The most under-utilized asset we have is grant monies. We need a dedicated grant writer. Saugus misses many funding opportunities because we have no one looking into the numerous offerings for what amounts to essentially free money. We miss many chances for funding for traffic safety, homeland security grants, environmental and public safety are just a few examples. While we may not qualify for some grants, we would but these are missed simply because we haven’t had a dedicated grant writer for years. Someone whose sole purpose is to find and write grants. This is something I feel we should make a priority. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the most urgent challenge facing Saugus town government? And as an elected selectman, what would you do to help address that challenge? A: An urgent challenge that needs addressing is route 1. We need to look at the zoning allowing all the new housing developments. Collaboration with all the departments in town is needed to determine how to best address the strain on our resources. Currently we have a shortage of manpower in all our public safety departments including ambulances. We shouldn’t be putting residents at risk because the town does not have the resources needed to cover the influx of new residents. We must make sure the town’s resources grow along with housing. We need to keep the safety and services in town a priority. School Committee Member Arthur Grabowski, who was the lone incumbent to be defeated in the School Committee race. He finished 7th. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the town’s most underutilized asset? This could be a facility, program, person or other resource that isn’t being used to its full potential – or used at all. As an elected official, what would you advocate to make sure Saugus residents receive the best benefit possible from this asset? A: In my opinion our most underutilized asset is our school buildings. Since it is an accepted fact that our students are two years behind, why are we not utilizing our schools for after school programs to help them catch up? With the millions of dollars of grant monies available we should be implementing as many after school programs as possible. We should even offer English as a second language classes not only to students but to adults and parents as well in the evenings, on Saturdays and during the summer. These opportunities are essential to help students and families. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the most urgent challenge facing Saugus Public Schools? And as an elected School Committee member, what would you do to help address that challenge? A: While the new Superintendent works to implement new standards, teaching techniques and evaluation methods it becomes imperative to have the bodies necessary to implement them. Currently there are many teaching positions open. Recently I received a note from an 8th grade parent who related that their student recently had five classes and four were being taught by a substitute and when substitutes were not available a para was called upon to sit in . This student will soon be leaving the district because of not having a highly qualified teacher for every class. Our clerical staff at the schools are wholly inadequate to meet the needs of students and staff. We need to make sure that we have enough staff to meet the needs of the students....all the great planning in the world is no good without the staff necessary to make it happen. First time candidate Leigh Michelle Gerow, who finished 6th in the School Committee race. Q: In 100 words or less, what do you consider the town’s most underutilized asset? This could be a facility, program, person or other resource that isn’t being used to its full potential – or used at all. As an elected official, what would you advocate to make sure Saugus residents receive the best benefit possible from this asset? A: Parents are our most underutilized asset. They hold the key to many of the answers that the board and Superintendent grapple with. Tapping into the Parent perspective can help to shed light on problems when there seem to be no solutions. As a board member I will listen to parents and what they have to add to the conversation. I’ll advocate that their voices be heard amidst the most challenging times, always remembering that parents and students are who I was elected to represent. Q: In 75 words or less, what is the single most important reason why you have decided to run for the School Committee this year? A: I was motivated to run for School Committee by a desire to broaden the representation on the board and to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all students in the Saugus Public Schools. As a mom and a parent to a sevenyear-old Belmonte STEAM student, I bring the skills, experience and fresh perspective that the board vitally needs.
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