In Beverly, Healing Strike Wounds and Focusing on the Future

As I speak with Beverly residents while running for reelection as Ward 5 City Councilor, it is clear to me that, while many want to move on, last year’s teacher's strike looms over this election. Regardless of your position on the strike, if you have one, our whole community experienced trauma. As both an elected official as well as a parent to children in Beverly Public Schools myself, I can assure you the trauma is real. To move past trauma and emerge stronger, we must acknowledge and process it.

As a Scout leader here in Beverly, I’m accustomed to reflecting on a group event with “roses, buds, and thorns." The roses represent what went well, the thorns acknowledge what was difficult, and the buds are where we find hope and growth for the future.

In the strike, the thorns were obvious. As a community, we weren't our best selves. I don't want to dwell on the thorns, but each of us needs to acknowledge the ways in which we fell short of our ideals if we want to move on from it.

But there were roses as well: more residents than ever before began learning about how our municipal budget works, asking smart questions, and thinking about how they could contribute to solutions.

Now, our responsibility is to focus on the buds. If we can channel the energy and passion that came out of that difficult time, we can grow stronger together. But first, we need to shed the idea of “sides” and recommit to working together. Otherwise, we may change the faces of who we yell at every few years without addressing root causes.

In the coming years, Beverly, like most communities throughout Massachusetts and the entire U.S., is facing some tough municipal budget challenges. This is not the fault of any one person or group; it is a systemic challenge. We will need a real team effort in doing, not telling. We must be disciplined and collaborative in order to prioritize resources wisely, invest in what works, and make the most of every taxpayer dollar to better fund all sorts of priorities across the city, from our roads and sidewalks to our schools. On City Council we often disagree, but we also all know that everyone’s intentions are good. With this mindset, we get things done- not despite our diverse perspectives, but because of them. Nothing bonds us together like solving a problem together and doing so as a community will feel GREAT.

This November, as we prepare to make decisions about our city, I encourage all of us to reflect, acknowledge, and then recommit. As caregivers, as community leaders, as public servants, and, most importantly, as neighbors—we are all on the same team. Let’s water the buds, nurture them together, and watch them bloom into more roses for Beverly’s future.