To the editor:
I am looking at this year’s contested race for Select Board as a Lexington resident for nearly sixty years. During this period, our town has been well served by many very good Select Board members. Joe Pato is one of them. In this year’s contested race for Select Board, I urge my fellow voters to cast one of their votes to re-elect Joe.
Under our Select Board-Town Manager Act of 1968, Select Board members do a number of things. They support our Town Manager by standing ready and able to offer advice and counsel, never micro-managing our hard-working Town staff. They work respectfully and collegially with their fellow Select Board members and with all elected and un-elected members of Town government. They keep up with the law, always seeking to understand the impact of new laws on the town. They have a vision for Lexington, but they center their agendas on the needs and concerns of residents. They use their powers of nuance and broad-mindedness to be constructive in the face of controversy.
I served with Joe on the Select Board for a number of years. I can attest that Joe checks each and every one of these boxes.
As our town moves forward with the complicated tasks of building a new high school and addressing the impacts of MBTA multi-family housing, it is more important than ever to re-elect Joe to the Lexington Select Board.
Norman Cohen
1010 Waltham St., Lexington
The letter-writer served on the Select Board from 2005 to 2017 and as town counsel from 1972 to 2001.