Precinct 5
Tell us a little about yourself. You can include your personal background, family, outside interests that are important to who you are as a person and a candidate.
My name is Alex Tsouvalas, I live on Grant Street in Precinct 5 with my wife and our daughter, an LHS sophomore. If you live in our neighborhood, you’d likely have seen me walking our two rescue dogs. We’ve lived in Lexington for the past 11 years, getting to know and love this town and community. When we first arrived, I attended Lexington Citizens Academy and learned about our town and how it is run. Over time, I’ve gotten more involved in the town and the timing finally works for me to run for and hopefully, serve in Town Meeting. I grew up in a town that also has a town meeting system and I always admired this uniquely New England form of government. I am excited for this opportunity to serve my friends and neighbors in Precinct 5.
How has your past experience — whether in your professional life, elected office, or as a community leader — prepared you for a role in Town Meeting?
I am a civic-minded person, having volunteered on countless campaigns for US Senators and Presidents, canvassing door to door throughout New England. I believe in the value of civic engagement and volunteerism – and that citizens should help their community to the best of their abilities. I’ve been working as an IT Director at large construction companies for the past six years, and prior to that, I owned and operated a technology consulting firm for twenty years. I understand what it is like to run a small business and work for large corporations. I was appointed to the Lexington Waste Reduction Taskforce in 2020 working to reduce the waste-stream by increasing composting. I am passionate about preserving our ecosystem for our families and especially our children. I have volunteered at the Lexington Interfaith Garden, been an RE teacher at Follen Community Church, a Summer Search Boston mentor since 2016, and am ready and excited to advocate for my precinct.
What is the most important issue in this election to you personally, and what ideas do you have about how to address this issue?
I want to serve in Town Meeting by engaging with my neighbors in Precinct Five, learn what their concerns, hopes and aspirations are for our town. I also intend to keep constituents informed of the happenings in Town Meeting, and help increase awareness, engagement, and participation.
I also profoundly believe in the environmental and economic benefits of increasing sustainability. For example, the simple act of composting food waste, has already reduced tens of thousands of pounds of trash from our town’s waste stream – saving taxpayers thousands of dollars, while reducing our collective carbon footprint. The alternative to composting is sending wet and heavy food waste to incinerators, requiring massive energy to burn – producing pollution and greenhouse gasses. Massachusetts’ landfill capacity is literally running out as we increase trash exports to other states. This is unsustainable – economically and environmentally. We must do and can do better.
As parent of a student at LHS who benefits from our fine Lexington school system, I’ve witnessed the pros and cons of our public schools over the past decade. We need to continue to invest in our teachers and programs but do so in a thoughtful and cost-effective way. With the new high school on the horizon, financial pressure on our school system will be greater than ever.
Finally, we need to make Lexington more affordable. With countless teardowns, mega-mansions and increased income disparity, we must aspire to make Lexington a community that people from diverse economic backgrounds can live, or Lexington will become affordable to only the very few with extraordinary means.
I have spent countless hours on political phonebanks and canvassing door to door, engaging with fellow voters. When able to engage in honest discourse, I have had some of the most meaningful conversations with strangers who hold different beliefs and positions than I. Finding common ground, wherever that might be, was always my most successful approach. I believe honest discourse is achievable when people simply allow themselves to listen to each other with an open mind – and dare I say, open heart. This is not always easy to do, but I have experience it enough to know it is absolutely possible.
I have been encouraged to run for Town Meeting over a number of years by wonderful neighbors and friends, I think because people know I am someone who tries to make a difference. With my past business and other commitments, I wasn’t able to take this responsibility on, until now. I am thrilled at the opportunity to become more involved in our town’s government, represent my neighbors and try to make a difference. I’m an avid gardener and am passionate about native pollinator plants, inspired by groups like Lexington Living Landscapes. I’m an passionate about sustainable energy, with solar on our home, and am in my eleventh year driving an electric car. If given the opportunity to serve in Town Meeting, I will take the responsibly and commitment very seriously. I believe to my core that it is our responsibility to make our community better for our older neighbors, peers and young people.