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 wife and I are 35-year residents with four daughters who had the benefit of attending Lexington Public Schools. I’m proud to live in a town that ensures that our infrastructure is well-maintained, protects immigrants, provides excellent schools, fights climate change while reducing utility costs, acts as a responsible steward of our tax dollars, and is on the forefront of efforts to increase our stock of affordable housing, while minimizing unintended consequences on quality of life.
Why are you running for Town Meeting?
I hope to continue serving to keep us moving in the right direction, building on all the strengths cited above, all the more so because of the headwinds we are facing from Washington. I would also like to encourage more community-wide events, like Illumination night, neighborhood block parties, community litter pickup efforts in public spaces to celebrate our diversity of backgrounds and our ability to work together for the common good.
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 member of the Lexington Human Rights Committee’s Immigration Working Group, and I led the 1990 rebuilding of the Bridge School playground and a neighborhood-based effort that led to the extension of the sidewalk on Lincoln St. to Shade St. l have also volunteered time with LexCAN, and championed the building of Net Zero design ADUs in Lexington since 2018.
I have worked over the last nine years to build strong support for the protection of immigrants in our community, ultimately getting broad support from Town Meeting, our Select Board and our police department, leading to the full implementation of our 2018 Safe Communities Resolution. It took patience, persistence, and respect for dissenting views sufficient to actually identify common beliefs to move us to where we are today. I think similar efforts are needed to address different points of view that emerged during the LHS funding debate.
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 work toward the rejuvenation of Lexington Center that addresses housing, parking, and retail activity. I am confident all aspects of the center can be improved in a coordinated and managed fashion, protecting historic aspects, while substantially enhancing retail choices.