All of the town-wide seats for Town Moderator (Deborah Brown), Board of Selectman (Jill Hai), School Committee (Kathleen Lenihan & Deepika Sawhney), and Planning Board (Ginna Johnson & Richard Canale) are not contested races, but that is no reason not to vote for them. They are well-prepared and excellent choices for the seats they are running for and our Town will be well-served by them. Join me in thanking them for stepping up to serve.
The contested races are happening further down the ballot, in the seats for Town Meeting within the precincts. In our Precinct 1, there are eight candidates for seven seats.* Some of the names of those I’m recommending are further down the ballot, so please be sure to look for them (specimen ballot HERE):
- Joel A. Adler
- Sandhya Beebee
- Sudhir Ranjan
- Mary Ann Stewart
- Judith L. Zabin
Yours truly has been in Town Meeting for the past 12 years. It has been a privilege to represent our neighborhood. I have endeavored to keep you and our neighbors updated and engaged on Town matters via face-to-face meet ups, this blog, posts to our neighborhood lists, and facebook. I ask for your vote to return me for another 3-year term.
Two newcomers deserve your attention: Sandy Beebee (Page Road) and Sudhir Ranjan (Emerson Gardens). I have spent some time getting to know them and believe both would be terrific additions.
- Sandy is a parent of younger children. She was Harrington PTA president for two years, part of the Lexington Parents Advocacy Group, and she has recently been appointed to the Capital Expenditures Committee by our Town Moderator. As an elected rep to Town Meeting, she will be able to vote on Town Meeting Articles, including the capital articles she has been focused on as a member of the CEC.
- Sudhir is eager to represent his community. He is a parent of a 7th grader at Clarke and a senior at LHS who is headed to college in the fall. He is a scientist here in Lexington. He wants to participate in Town affairs in a non-partisan manner, in an effort to enhance overall community development. He also wants to be sure we have looked at all possible options to save money before any tax increase is requested.
*You may vote for as few as you like, but no more than seven representatives to Town Meeting. The seven candidates with the highest number of votes will serve as our elected representatives from Precinct 1.