ISSUES:  If it matters to you it matters to me.  

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Housing: homes are the foundation of a community. Although Attleboro has many beautiful neighborhoods and housing developments, we must have more housing options across a wider spectrum income levels. Average home prices are quickly soaring out of reach for young families, and many seniors, low-income residents, and veterans cannot afford the increases in property taxes and rents associated with increased property evaluations.  In order to help protect  and provide housing  for our veterans, seniors, mobile home park residents, and low- to moderate-income residents I co-sponsored and support changes to our city ordinances to allow accessory apartments,  adopt inclusionary zoning policies, and prohibit mobile home parks from being redeveloped into subdivisions.  Additional opportunity may be found in gentle density increases and developing and cultivating public-private partnerships for housing development.  

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Roads & infrastructure: maintaining our streets and sidewalks is important for safety, adds to our quality of life, and helps keep people connected. Regular maintenance costs less than constant repair.  As Mayor I would support the city joining the Commonwealth's Complete Streets program which could lead to funding assistance for road construction costs and improvements. Nothing is more important than our water supply. Efficient and well-functioning water and waste water systems are vital for our quality of life, water conservation, and cost control.   We must plan for regular maintenance for our water and waste water systems to ensure proper health and safety standards are satisfied, minimize system failures, and avoid expensive repairs.  

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Waste disposal: controlling costs is imperative as waste disposal service fees are increasing locally and globally. Through education and outreach we must focus on reducing waste generally and decreasing food waste specifically, and increasing revenues at the city recycling center.  Our new mattress disposal and textile recycling programs are great examples of waste and cost reducing efforts. I will also work toward a cost-effective and fair waste management contract, and explore a food waste collection/composting program at all public schools and potentially for all residents and small restaurants.

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Environmental sustainability and resilience:  as we face increasing and longer periods of droughts, flooding, and related impacts, we must continue our efforts as a green community, encourage sustainable development, and become more resilient.  We need a coordinated strategy for preserving our parks and open spaces and protecting our wetlands and water resources.  We must pursue and plan for more alternative energy sources for our municipal properties to become energy independent, including adding solar panels to municipal building roofs and exploring the development of micro-grids. With memories of the recent drought still fresh in our minds we must work to reduce our water consumption. Regularly detecting and eliminating large and small system water leaks, minimizing the use of impervious surfaces, and encouraging more drought resistant trees and plantings in new residential and commercial developments would greatly help in this effort. 

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Senior residents: planning for the well-being of our growing and active senior population is imperative. We need more space for people, programs, and parking but we also need a plan for more community partnerships, pedestrian-friendly walkways, health services, and cultivating a multi-generational community. I will support efforts for Attleboro to become an Age Friendly Community to ensure we are better serving residents of all ages now and in the future. 

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Veterans: honoring our veterans and active service members is always important and is a proud part of our community character. I will work with our Veterans Department to ensure our veterans are always welcomed, supported, and honored.  I will also support the formation of a task force to explore the creation of a memorial to those who served in the War on Terror. 

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Municipal services & government efficiency:  we need an in-depth analysis of our current staffing levels, department functions, and costs of service to ensure the most efficient and best use of public funds.  To this end, I have co-sponsored a request for a thorough review of the city job classification plan and pay scale and recruitment and hiring practices; requested that all city fees for services be publicly posted and reviewed on a regular basis, called for a city wide cost-study, and requested the administration develop a policy for free cash and stablization funds.  If elected mayor I will budget to revise the city website to allow for more online transactions and better communication with residents, create a facilities maintenance staff to minimize costly repairs and extend the useful life of city buildings, and request funds for city department efficiency studies.

 

Economic development: cultivating a welcoming and supportive environment for current and new businesses can best be accomplished by minimizing obstacles and increasing collaboration.  We need a brand and a marketing plan to better motivate new businesses to open in the city. If elected I will also work with the Chamber of Commerce to conduct a business climate survey to get a better picture of the number, type, size, ownership, staffing, opportunities, and challenges facing our local businesses.  This information is vital for planning, marketing, programming, and assisting businesses to open up shop in Attleboro, to stay in Attleboro, and to succeed in Attleboro.  

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Schools & education: ensuring properly funded schools to avoid layoffs and offering all students a 21st century education is good for Attleboro and good for our country.  I will support efforts to establish the new high school as an educational hub that serves all residents by providing learning opportunities for employment advancement, personal enrichment, & community connection.  I will also work to ensure that every school is safe, clean, accessible, and welcoming for all of our children.    

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Public safety: attracting and retaining well trained public safety professionals is imperative to their safety and the safety of every resident.  We need a coordinated recruitment and retention strategy, competitive wages, and training programs for all of our first responders.  I would also work toward expanding the Traffic Unit to reduce speeding and make our roads safer, and explore improvements or renovations to our police and fired department buildings to maximize municipal resources and ensure emergency services are always provided in a safe, timely, and efficient manner.      

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