from LWV:

1)  Please list your Community Activities:

• Town Meeting Member - representing Precinct 3 since 2009

• Town Meeting Communications Study Committee (2022) - served as chair

• Winchester Select Board - elected to two terms (6 years) and served three years as chair

• Winchester Planning Board - elected to three terms (9 years) and served four years as chair

• Capital Planning Committee

• Town Manager Selection Advisory Committee

• Climate Action Advisory Committee

2)  What Winchester issues do you think are most important?

• Improving communication among town government, town meeting and residents. Good communication is the bedrock foundation for a town meeting form of government that depends on the trust of its citizens.  

• Developing a longer-range strategy for funding the town’s schools and services. We have been muddling through by cutting back services and increasing property taxes, but this is not a viable long-term solution.    

• Continuing the revitalization of the town center.  The center is a key asset of the town and the preferred location for additional housing.

• Preserving the quality and character of our neighborhoods.  Our neighborhood zoning dates from the 1930s and 1950s; it must be updated to better manage 21st century housing development.   

3)  Of those important issues, which one do you feel most passionate about, and what is your position on that issue?

• Improving communication among town government, town meeting and residents.  The public expects the town to be proactive in delivering relevant information and do so in a clear, concise and timely manner.  Delivering on this expectation requires a shift in the culture and practices of town hall and town meeting.  We must commit leadership, policy and resources to make this happen.  The necessary changes are practical, within reach and set out in the report of the Town Meeting Communications Study Committee. 

4)  What does Winchester do well and what might be improved?

• The town is well managed and well served by the town staff and school personnel.

• The town enjoys the benefits of many committed and skilled volunteers who serve on its elected and appointed boards.  

• Although expensive, the town has been proactive in making capital investments in its flood control program, schools and water and sewer systems to protect the health and welfare of residents.  

5)  The Town Meeting Communications Study Committee has recommended that a written communications plan be prepared and a town communications manager be appointed by FY2025 (https://www.winchester.us/DocumentCenter/View/9219/Communications-Study-Commiteee_Final-Report_Recommendations). Do you support both recommendations, even if they would involve adding a new full-time position (salary and benefits) to the town budget? If not, what alternative ideas do you suggest?

• Yes, I support both recommendations.  The 2022 Fall Town Meeting approved Article 11 by unanimous voice vote.  Article 11 called for the select board and town manager to prepare an initial town communications plan and recommended that the plan be reported to the 2023 Fall Town Meeting.  It is our responsibility to see that this happens.  Without better communication, town meeting will be less responsive to residents, less effective at setting town policy, and eventually less relevant as a form of local democratic governance.