Renzoni, Bates bring dedication, experience
No election has more direct impact on your day-to-day living than electing your local officials. On May 13, we have an opportunity to re-elect two outstanding members of the Holden board of selectmen. The dedication and experience that Anthony Renzoni and Rick Bates bring to the board of selectmen will be critical in the coming years.
Two current members of the select board, who are not up for election, have injected an unfortunate, divisive, and unnecessary partisanship onto our board. Most recently what had always been a routine appointment of poll worker became, for the first time in anyone’s memory, highly politicized by these two members of the select board. Ultimately, common sense prevailed and the individual was appointed unanimously.
This type of activity was completely unnecessary. Our board of selectmen has always been a nonpartisan board whose primary mission is to help steer the town of Holden to become the best version of itself it can be. That means setting various town tax and sewer rates and supporting the many programs and services that make Holden such a special community (in which) to raise a family.
In his time on the board, Anthony Renzoni has tirelessly served our community, whether it be spearheading the search for a new superintendent of schools, solving budget crises, and being a veteran himself playing a pivotal role in resurrecting our inspirational Memorial Day Parade. Rick Bates, in his term on the board, has also proven to be a steady hand, using his experience of living in Holden for over 30 years, serving on multiple boards and utilizing his background as an attorney and a law enforcement official to help us navigate legal issues and public safety concerns.
Elections matter. Holden has been well-served by these experienced, moderate selectmen. I hope you’ll be joining me in voting to reelect Anthony Renzoni and Rick Bates to the Holden board of selectman. Thank you.
Lew Evangelidis
Holden
Vote for Renzoni, Bates, Miller and Glodas
In the May 13 Holden town election, several candidates top the field. They are Anthony Renzoni and Rick Bates for Select Board, Amy Miller for Wachusett Regional School District Committee, and Maureen “Moe” Glodas for library trustee. Here’s why.
Current Board of Selectmen members Anthony and Rick (up for re-election) will continue to resist efforts to turn Holden into an expensive, crowded suburb. The state wants that, calling it (misleadingly) the MBTA Communities Act. Two other candidates call it “increased investment” and “future endeavors” (both quotes from https://www.holdendemocrats.org). No matter what you call it, all Holden residents would face massive tax increases, ruining their small town in the process. State funding (from complying with the MBTA Communities Act) would be dwarfed by these tax increases.
If you want expensive, crowded living, there are plenty of places closer to Boston. The town of Milton resisted these efforts, and several other towns are also resisting. So can Holden!
For the school committee, Amy Miller has all of the appropriate credentials; they are listed in her candidacy announcement. Personally, Amy adds a strong work ethic, integrity, compassion, an emphasis on results instead of recognition, and a cooperative, optimistic personality. She is a model of what should be.
For library trustee, Maureen “Moe” Glodas would add new perspectives to an almost monolithic culture within the Gale Free Library. Moe was the business owner of a medical billing company for 23 years, and is a strong first Amendment believer (i.e., no book banning). While the candidates up for re-election have significant academic credentials, they have none of Moe’s acumen for the interests of the far more diverse patrons of the library.
If you vote for these four candidates, you will be voting for people who are not driven by popular opinion or media hype. Instead, you will be voting for people who think that working for you is actually more important than just getting elected, expending minimal effort, and going with the crowd.
Ed Baxter
Jefferson
Linda Long-Bellil for Holden Select Board
We have known Linda and her family since they moved into our Holden neighborhood in 2008. Our boys quickly became the best of friends, and even today maintain that friendship while students at different universities. Linda has long been an advocate for a strong local government, and can often be seen at town meetings, meet-and-greets, and sign-holding events.
Linda is on the faculty at UMass Chan Medical School where she teaches, does research, and provides technical assistance on public policy related to disability, health and employment. She also works to educate health professionals, medical and nursing students, about how to provide quality care to persons with disabilities.
Linda began her public service when she ran for school committee, knowing that a strong school system would mean nothing but good things for our town and our children. She has been an active member of the school committee, pushing for positive change for almost a decade now.
Linda, being an active member of the School Committee, knows how a greater collaboration with the town’s Select Board can lead to a more cohesive partnership between the two entities. Linda’s many years of work on the school committee will give her a unique perspective, and her experience will be an asset to the Select Board, which will greatly benefit our town.
We feel that Holden’s future is tied tightly to how our school system performs, and that greater collaboration between the school committee and the Select Board must begin to move our town forward.
We ask you to carefully review all of the candidates for the Holden Select Board and cast your vote with us for Linda Long-Bellil. We believe that Linda will bring the positive change that our town needs and deserves.
Todd & Marjorie Numan
Holden
Vote for Amy Miller
Lauren Salmon-Garrett is running for reelection to the Wachusett Regional School District Committee. I do not believe she is a good candidate for this position. She has been chair of the Legal Affairs Subcommittee. This means that she ran and/or coordinated the negotiations with the unions that have led to the current contracts. School Superintendent Dr. Reilly has publicly acknowledged that the district is in financial crisis, our towns have to consider emergency fiscal measures, yet the unions are getting salary increases of 6% or so per year and other goodies. The increases, the longevity, etc. have been extremely hard for the towns to sustain, and the future does not look bright.
Salmon-Garrett also voted against the motion that would ensure analysis of the academic quality of education in the district and its long-term trends. Only 50% of our eight-grade students meet or exceed the expectations in math, 54% in English, etc. And yet she was against this measure.
What is even worse is the political ideology of Salmon-Garrett. I personally believe that people should be judged by their merit and content of their character, not by their race or other matters. I hope that the majority of the WRSD residents agree with this. Salmon-Garrett, as a School Committee candidate, has publicly stated that the “demographics” of the district is not to her liking (she used the word “shocking”), and that she wants it to change.
Does a person who does not like who the majority of the voters are deserve to be elected? I do not think so.
I will vote for Amy Miller. She will truly serve all the citizens of the town and of the district, and she will not find us “shocking” because of who we are. I urge you to do the same.
Elect Amy Miller to the Wachusett Regional School District Committee on May 13.
George Kaminski
Holden
