Letter: Boshart Is the Right Pick for Weston's Moderator

Dear Editor:

I wanted to submit this letter in support of Harvey Boshart for Town Moderator. 

There are a number of reasons why I believe that Harvey would make an excellent moderator. In no particular order:

• Harvey is a dedicated public servant, having served on Weston’s Finance Committee for years. As a former member of the Recreation Commission, we would discuss issues that impacted my programs on a regular basis – I always found him to be thoughtful, well-informed, attentive and open to my thoughts – I think that these would all be qualities the town should be looking for in the next moderator.
• Harvey has always worked hard on the town’s behalf – he has lived in town for 9 years and has spent seven of them on various town committees (he was chair for the Fincom for six years – as a chairman of the Recreation Commission for 16 years, I can tell you that the Chairman’s position demands extra service and Harvey was always willing to “go that extra mile.”) – he cares what goes on in town and this commitment to public service should be appreciated (and extended with his election to the moderator position).
• His experience as FinCom chair is invaluable in understanding how town politics work and how best to leverage these existing relationships moving forward.
• Finally, I have played basketball with Harvey for the past 8 years – while possessing exceptional skills on the court, what impressed me most was his fairness – whether it be his willingness to play on whatever team I asked in order to insure fair teams or in calling a foul on himself when he had committed one, Harvey always stepped up.  And I think that fairness is a critical attribute that a successful moderator must possess – to be able to understand when an issue requires more discussion and to know when it has been talked out; to distinguish between emotion and logic and respond appropriately when dealing with issues that are dividing the town’s residents; to insure that everyone leaving the town meeting feels that they had been treated fairly and had had a chance to voice their opinion.

But don’t just take my word for it – please go meet Harvey and hear what he has to say at the League of Women Voters’ Candidates Night on Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m. in the Amy Potter Center at the Weston Middle School. I’m sure that you will come away from that meeting as impressed with Harvey as I am.

Greg Czarnowski
Brook Road, Weston