I have been honored to serve as Mayor of Northampton, to be entrusted by the citizens with the responsibility to lead, the opportunity to improve our City and efficiently manage its resources through some very difficult economic times.

 

Despite the daily challenges and responsibilities, I have tried to be a mayor who focuses on building a better future for our citizens, especially our children, and building a stronger economic base on which our City can succeed. I’ve been blessed to work with a thoughtful and responsible City Council and School Committee, and we’ve achieved a record of progress of which we can be proud.

 

We’ve balanced the need to protect our environment with the need to expand our tax base and provide efficient and professional services to the taxpayers. Fully 40% of the protected open space in the City was preserved during my administration. We’ve developed the first-ever comprehensive planning process to guide future development in our neighborhoods and our downtowns. We’ve made affordable housing a cornerstone of our City.

 

We’ve worked to build educational excellence in our schools, to honor our teachers’ dedication and commitment, to keep class sizes small in the early years, and to make sure in reality, not just in rhetoric, that no child is left behind, and that all of our kids have a quality education and the tools they need to allow them to advance to college or a trade.

 

And we have not been afraid to tackle difficult and contentious issues, such as the expansion of the landfill, the development of the State Hospital property, and most recently, the establishment of a downtown Business Improvement District, because these projects are essential to building a better City for all of us.

 

I’ve tried to be a Mayor who listens to good ideas offered by residents and work openly with them to solve the many problems our city faces. During this recession I’ve been candid in sharing the bad news of our city’s finances, offering truthful and sober news to the taxpayers, and proposing that we may have to raise our taxes to pay for the services we need and want.

 

With the support of the Council, we’ve reorganized many of our City’s administrative functions to improve efficiency and meet the needs of the residents of Northampton. Combining the City Clerk’s Office with the Registrar of Voters, reorganizing our city’s finance functions, creating and funding a realistic approach to capital projects, modernizing telephone and information technology, and working to keep health insurance increases below those of other municipalities across the state represent just a few of the important, day-to-day decisions we’ve made to help keep our City running efficiently.

 

But we have also looked to the future needs of the City, such as improving our downtown parking patterns, providing reliable ambulance service, building a new Senior Center, and adopting tax increment financing to offer an incentive to businesses to expand here. These are the responsible risks that come with governing in the 21st century, and I have never sought to put those decisions off.

 

I have always remembered how futures are built, one step at a time, with a clear purpose, a strong voice, and with determination.

 

Our city faces many serious and complicated financial challenges, and many of my friends have offered sympathy for how difficult it must be to be a Mayor.

 

My friends, it is no more difficult to be Mayor today than it is to be a citizen of Northampton today, struggling in an uncertain economy to make sure, each day, that our kids are getting the best education they can, scrimping to live within our means, and working to ensure that we all live together in safety and with a sense of shared common purpose and the dream of a better tomorrow.

 

It is the lives of Northampton’s families that both guide and ground me, and the reason that I proudly announce my candidacy for re-election, and humbly ask for your continued support.