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.
Our family set down roots in Lexington in 1977. We had been searching for a school that would challenge our children. We found it in Estabrook School. Our children were part of the generation that put Lexington’s public education on the global map through their individual academic achievements, music and sports activities, and acceptances to selective colleges.
I was a parent volunteer in the Lexington Public Schools. I was also a volunteer at the Longy School of Music, supporting the activities of Roman Totenberg’s Young Performers of Longy, and helping with scholarship fund drives.
The music activities of my children led me to become a violin teacher. Over the years, many Lexington students who started with me became professionals in different fields. They have said that they “learned how to learn” through their violin studies.
I worked as a nurse (B.S.N., M.S.N., RN, NP) in the medical, surgical and rehabilitation fields and in public health. I was also part of a team that developed a course curriculum in maternal and child health nursing.
Why are you running for Town Meeting?
Common sense has to be put back into our town government. I want to be a voice for taxpayers who love this town. Planning, now and in the future, has to be responsible and affordable. It should not send the Town and taxpayers to bankruptcy. In these uncertain economic times, we cannot just “spend, spend, Spend” without regard to bad consequences. We must not fall into an Oedipus Trap, where we will not be able to live with the Town officials’ foolhardy decisions, no matter how well-intentioned.
I decided to become a candidate for Town Meeting after I realized that speaking at public Town Meetings, writing letters, and talking to individual Town officials did not carry any weight on what is considered in Town decisions. It has been particularly frustrating since early 2023 when the MBTA multifamily commitment for Lexington was being discussed. I objected vigorously to the scope of the plan. It was way too big a project. Realistically, the Town could not support such scale without severe environmental and economic impacts.
I asked for analysis of needs that come with such a huge housing goal for Lexington, which has very limited MBTA service: more car parking, fire/police departments, schools and teachers, more town services, etc. The higher cost to taxpayers needs to be anticipated and calculated. I even invited all elected town officials to go on an “MBTA Reality Ride” with me: to ride and test the MBTA to and from important basic destinations. In the two years since, there have been no takers.
Citizens’ pleas were ignored. Instead, adoption of 2023 Article 34 was fast-tracked.
Now we can actually see the threat to Lexington’s quality of life and affordability. A significant number of big developments are pending. Obviously, the Planning Board, its paid planners and others who pushed for the massive plan did not work to benefit Lexington taxpayers. Who are they really working for?
I support 2025 STM Article 2. I am for the rollback of the current multifamily allotment on record to what the MBTA Multifamily Dwelling Act originally assigned as Lexington’s quota.
Precinct 7 electors: Please vote for me and for Letitia Hom on March 3. We want to represent you!