“You can’t,” they said. You can’t say that. You can’t start a blog about Grafton and expect people to take you seriously. You can’t fight town hall. You can’t promote affordable housing and have people like you. You can’t speak truth to power around here. You can’t argue facts and expect to win. You can’t […]
The Roadmap, Part 6: Restoring Accountability
There was a subtly important moment this evening at Town Meeting that I think exemplifies the difference between this administration’s approach and how I think things ought to be run. At one point, Donna Girouard, Grafton resident and former Town Clerk questioned the Town Administrator as to why funding was not being proposed for an […]
The Roadmap, Part 5: Economic Development
Question: What do quality schools and affordable housing have in common? Answer: economic development. Wait, what? At first blush, those sentences make no sense. Subjects like education, affordable housing and economic development seem like totally disparate topics. But as community after community feels the pinch of declining state aid and a frustrated local residential tax […]
The Roadmap Part 4: You don’t know anything until you know where your capital money is spent.
It’s almost crazy that I’m getting to the capital platform fourth. Really, it should be first. You can’t tell me about your spending priorities in your community before you can tell me what your capital obligations are in the next five years. The goal of any capital improvement plan is to create a logical, data-driven, […]
Correcting the Record.
It was with a mixture of bemusement and very serious concern that I read Dennis Perron’s recent blog on his website entitled “Let’s Correct the Record.” In this blog, Dennis attempts a data-driven take down of yours truly in what I can only imagine in his mind was an epic “gotcha” moment. There’s only one […]
The Roadmap, Part 3: it’s 2018. Where is your kid’s school?
Grafton parents have come to expect a quality and competitive educational experience for their children. So, to paraphrase a great Aaron Sorkin line from The West Wing, running for Selectman without understanding the school department is like running for the President of the Walt Disney World Corporation by saying that you’re going to fix the […]
“The last thing we need is another committee!!”
Dennis Perron last week: Dennis Perron today: I have been asked about my “Common Sense Approach” to the budget and my proposals for budget consolidations. On October 20, 2008, Town Meeting voted to establish the Shared Services Committee. “Article 16. Consolidation of Administrative Functions allows the Town to consolidate administrative functions, including […]
