Candidate Statement: Rick Menard, Board of Selectmen

Fellow Citizen,

This April 6^th, you have a huge choice in the annual Town Election.  There seems to be an unprecedented field of 6 candidates, all of us feel that we have Tewksbury’s best interest at heart.  We all have ideas of what we can do to build the tax base, industry and long term benefits but for me, the Present is more pressing than the Future.  My priorities make me your best choice this Spring.  Being a “Rookie” politician, please bear with my statement if it’s wordy…I want to be sure you know what you’ll be getting if you choose me to represent your voice.

When my wife Joy and I moved to our modest home in south Tewksbury in 2005 with our 3 kids Alex, Sydney, and Jack it was for several reasons.  The proximity to work, the city, the local Elementary School (Trahan), the brand new public buildings (Ryan, Library, PD, South FD, and Wynn remodel), and the welcoming feel of the neighborhood is what sold us. Tewksbury was the perfect choice for us to raise our family.

My kids have done great in our town and we have no regrets whatsoever in purchasing our home.  Alex, our oldest, is at Shawsheen Tech where he was a Commonwealth Conference All-Star for the Rams Swim Team.  He, despite his dyslexia, is part of the class that had every sophomore pass the MCAS exam.  Only 15 schools state-wide can claim that this year!  Sydney is a constant fixture on the honor roll at the Wynn and swims for the USA Swimming program North Shore Swim Club at Shawsheen Tech where she recently competed in New England Regional Championships, dreaming of Olympic Gold.  Jack, our youngest, is on the Principals list at the Ryan is an All Star pitcher in TYLL, a member of the Red Pride TYFB travel team, and championship swimmer himself.  The reason I state my children’s accolades isn’t so you think any better of me….it is because they are a product of this community and the strong work ethic that has been instilled in them.  They have been raised by not only us, but also by their teachers, coaches, friends, and neighbors.

I am running because of a simple lesson I was taught by my dad.  He always told me that unless I was willing to help, I couldn’t criticize those who were.  I have no ties to anyone else in Town politics; I’m not looking to make friends, grant favors, run campaigns, or fill my ego.  I want to be sure that our priorities are being met and our voices are being heard.  I am willing to do whatever it takes over the next three years to face our immediate problems and to position us for future opportunities.  I have been called contentious at times, which I take as a compliment.  If you think something is wrong, you need to be bold enough to say so and stand by your words.

As a profession firefighter, I serve as a Lieutenant on Engine 4 in Malden.  I have earned the right to lead my crew into some of the most dangerous conditions known to society, through my education and experience.  I have been asked to serve on the IAFF local 902 Charitable Committee to streamline our thousands in charitable efforts.  We are charged with evaluating the effectiveness of the charity and screening our scholarship recipients as well as coordinating all fundraising efforts.  I was selected by the Chief of the Department to run the grant based SAFE program that enables firefighters to bring lessons to school age children.  This has given me invaluable experience and insight into the grant writing process through the State’s Executive Office of Public Safety and Security.

Prior to firefighting, I was a teacher on both Charter and Alternative HS levels.  As a former teacher, I am aware of the challenges that face our schools and educators.  I still substitute teach on my off-shift days and I am relatively current on the state of affairs at both the lower and upper elementary schools.  My wife Joy is a Special Ed Kindergarten teacher in a city that has a 60% low-income level. We know the importance of education and the impact it has on a community.  A school system is one of the driving forces behind property values.  Good Schools=Higher Home Values=Increased Tax Base.

EDUCATION:

We are at tipping point in our Tewksbury schools and I know that our teachers agree.  One administrator and I had a conversation about “the National Attack on Public Education” and that is the perfect way to state our situation.  The State adopted MCAS as part of the Mass Ed Reform Act that I studied while at Salem State back in the early 90’s.  The MCAS is an assessment, similar to the SAT, given to every Public and Charter School in the Commonwealth.  Our scores in Tewksbury are rising, but still not on par with the surrounding options at not only Shawsheen Tech, but also the expanding local Charter Schools.  When a Tewksbury student leaves our School System (current rates are 8.2% @ 5^th grade and 35.9% @ 9^th grade according to DESE) so does the funding….to the tune of $5,970,959.00 budgeted for this upcoming year!  We need to support our schools by chasing funding to allow for increased extra help hours and re-vamped curriculum.  We need to explore State based grants like the newest Innovation School program through the Executive Office of Education.  New buildings and facilities are the start, as your Selectman I will put more focus on school books and less focus on astro-turf! 

The long term implications of this situation are alarming.  If we don’t get our MCAS scores to the top 99^th percentile more and more “traditional” education students will pursue outside district placement. This exodus will make it even more difficult for the “vocational” student to get vital trade experience.  While the college bound graduates head off to higher learning, these untrained work-force graduates left behind will present more challenges for our community.  They will be under or un-employed and disenfranchised with very little hope for the future.  If we could keep just 70% of our students in our schools, we would retain almost TWO MILLION DOLLARS and ease the path for kids who need Tech type training. We have some of the best teachers in the State (99.1 percentile), imagine the tools $2 Million could provide to help ALL of our kids succeed. 

PUBLIC SAFETY:

In college I studied Psychology as part of my Education Minor and learned about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.  It holds true to almost every aspect of a society, outlining priorities of a path toward being “self-actualized”.  First and foremost priority as humans is our basic “Physiological needs”…food, clothing, and shelter.  Secondary needs are “Safety”! In order to progress toward “Belonging/Community” we need to be safe.  My stance on Public Safety has led to the PFFM and TFD Local 1647’s sole endorsement in this campaign.  I can tell you from firsthand accounts that not having a FULLY STAFFED FIRE ENGINE at every station is UNSAFE!  It is only a matter of time until the numbers will catch up in this game of Russian roulette and something catastrophic will happen.  I don’t want Tewksbury to be a community that grieves an unnecessary injury or loss for a Resident or Firefighter. There is imperial data that shows how fast a fire grows (http://www.iaff.org/et/deployment/documents/FGFE_Fact_Sheet1.pdf) and the impact a crew size has on the growth.  3 member crews are the minimum safe standard, less than that could result in needless injuries or worse.  There is much talk about the TFD and their contract settlement, as Patriot owner Robert Kraft recently said, “it takes two sides to make a deal”…I pay taxes here in town like the rest of you and I don’t want to open the coffers anymore than you do.  I want to do whatever is the most fiscally responsible option to keep our stations staffed.  If that means cutting back on compensation and hiring more members, so be it.  The TFD members know my stance on finance and still stand behind me. They put the value of our lives ahead of their wallet and deserve our support!  The truth is, the only people suffering by the closing of the station, are the mostly densely populated neighborhoods in the South of Town, people like my family and I!

Our Police Force is also being taxed because more and more transient criminals seek to attack our Town.  The police report is littered with out of town names that seem to frequent the same places over and over again.  We need to look at ways to legislate home rule in order to support the PD.  Placing some of the fiscal responsibility of policing on the property owners that create an increased need in services will help in so many ways.  We need to train our Command Staff with equal or better opportunity than the patrolmen, if we are going to give them stripes then owe them the tools to be on the forefront of prevention and enforcement.   We need to reach out to any outside agency available to assist our local force in getting the crime levels under control.  When there was a rash of shootings in the community I work in, there was increased presence with coordination of the Sherrif, State, and NEMLEC agencies to help turn the tide.  Take a long look at the police log in Tewksbury,  you can see the tide rising here too.

I need to know that my family and property is protected when I’m at work for nearly 100 24 hour shifts a year.  I am fearful that the Men and Women in Public Service won’t have the tools to keep my family safe.  If Elected, I will be sure that your Safety needs will be met!

Infrastructure:

Our Commercial tax base is beat up, I’m sure most other candidates will agree with this point.  Our EDC both past and present have tried during tough times to increase this revenue with nominal success to date.  Thermo-Fisher is a great start, and we are giving them a 20 year tax break, but we need to focus on small business as well.  I live a stone’s throw away from the revamped Rt 38. Commercial corridor of Wilmington and am baffled as to why we haven’t been able to replicate something similar here in Tewksbury.  We have a stretch of road between South and Livingston Streets that is primed for targeted improvements.  By improving this 1.3 mile stretch of road, we will ease traffic and increase neighborhood access to current and future businesses. We can start to bring in businesses and eliminate some of these vacancies where some heinous crimes have already taken place.  It will also help to identify this as what our “Master Plan” labels an Entry point.  A comprehensive plan would also decrease car accidents and make the road safer for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.  Now is the time for these improvements because the decreased number of business means minimal impact during construction.  If we build it, they will come.

In closing, we are going to be hamstrung by our sewer, water, and superfund debt for the foreseeable future.  I am the only candidate who has stated that we need to prioritize our budget.  We don’t want to cut services, but if that happens, let’s be sure we make the right cuts. Contact me through my website, www.RichardMenard.org if you want me to expand on my ideas, share your concerns, or get a ride to the polls!  I look forward to seeing a great turnout April 6^th but, make sure you’re registered by this Friday March 15^th at 8pm to have your voice heard at both the Elections and Town Meeting!