Education

Education experts will decide what is best for students and I will vote to support their budget requests. Superintendent Echelson’s vision and leadership for Waltham’s public schools has my full support, including his accelerated improvement plan. I support the Stigmatine property taking by eminent domain in order to build a new high school. Our kids deserve the best. I support Waltham’s Master Education Plan and will continue to support outstanding school committee members. Education is America’s great equalizer.  Read more…

Conservation & the UMass Field Station

The field station property is an integral part of the Western Greenway and must be included in any plan for the site. Excluding the Western Greenway is non-negotiable. The Waltham Land Trust and other tenants should have an opportunity to continue their work at the site as long as it fits in with the agricultural/ open space concept. I’m more familiar with Green Rows of Waltham (GROW) than some of the other tenants as I used to help friends and family with their garden plots. Waltham Fields Community Farm is an incredibly inspirational group. Seeing volunteers harvest and stack vegetables at the end of growing season is great to witness. Their volunteerism is one of the purest forms of community service. One report stated they donated over 20 tons of food. Along with 4H and all the other tenants, these are organizations we need to keep in Waltham. Read more…

Trash & Pest Control

Everyone in Waltham has to cooperate to successfully deal with this problem. Rodents appear where there is a food source. The city should enforce existing codes regarding trash policy. Reminding people to secure trash in closed containers and giving them time to accommodate the policy is appropriate. The city should recommend standard container sizes people can purchase or provide each household with a standard sized bin like the recycle bins. Any commercial or residential dumpster that is not up to standard (e.g. rusted holes on the bottom or sides) should be replaced as soon as possible.