Why This Democrat Is Voting For Caroline Colarusso

A Letter to the Editor from Thomas Boussy:

I’m a registered Democrat and have been my whole life. But come Tuesday I will, in fact, be voting for Caroline, Charlie Baker, and Elizabeth Warren ... go figure, but I have my own reasons for why I’m voting for each candidate. While I don’t usually agree with Caroline on national political issues, I did have the pleasure of serving with her on the then-named Board of Selectmen. While people like to paint her into a corner (or as evidenced by Facebook, some would prefer to listen to or spread rumors about her), I can tell you that she is the hardest working Selectman this town has ever seen. If you have questions for her, she holds office hours each week and is always happy to hear from residents. You would be surprised how much common ground you have if you approached her with an open mind.

While I was on the board with her, we got a lot accomplished because she truly reached across the aisle to work for what is best for Stoneham. She’s not afraid to speak the truth and she's even less fearful when it comes to demanding accountability on behalf of the tax payers. For example, when she proposed a "trash fee holiday"; it wasn’t to make anyone look bad or make her look good; she
understands that the town is looking to build a $100M high school, as well as two new fire stations and a new elementary school, while upgrading equipment and services. There was $3M in surplus last year and the trash fee is supposed to be temporary. Before the town votes to spend this kind of money in overrides the tax payers want to know that their money was being properly utilized. That was an effort to show people that the local government is being responsible with your money.

While the board opposed her by saying that our bond rating would suffer if we didn’t put the money into stabilization, they then spent close to $800,000 in capital six moths later, breaking the promise to avoid the October cash grab and only spend on capital in May.

Caroline fought hard against Eversource to keep that traffic nightmare of a project out of Stoneham. She is still the lone voice fighting against Weiss farm.

She fought for a substance abuse coordinator to bring added support to combat the addiction epidemic.

Caroline even worked out a deal to get funding bus stop at the zoo. She has held several alzheimer’s awareness seminars, something that is very personal to her and she’s passionate about it. In a community where over 20% of the populations is made up of seniors, this is valuable information for local families.
One of the best hires made in this town has been Steve Angelo and thus the resurrection of the
Stoneham Rec Department. We wouldn’t have one without her.

She also fought to bring the police and fire departments to safe staffing levels.

She supports and works to increase funding for roads and sidewalks throughout town.

She supported tax incremental financing that is revitalizing downtown.

While she was on the finance board, she supported funding the town planner position.

She fights for accountability when it comes to taxes and fees. She spends a lot of time at the senior center, making herself easily accessible to seniors that are on a fixed income, listening to their concerns about the inability to afford the water and trash fees.

And those are the highlights as to why I’m voting for Caroline - she talks and listens to people, all to work toward figuring out what is best for the town as a whole, not just a select few.

However you feel, both candidates have a lot more in common than what separates them. So, get out there and vote on Tuesday, Nov. 6th.

Thomas Boussy, Ellen Road, Stoneham