Table of Contents
Preferred contact method:
hikemasterdmr@gmail.com
What experiences and perspectives would you contribute to Town Meeting?
I was a civil trial lawyer at a medium sized law firm in Boston for 32 years, serving on its management team as a member of the Board of Directors for over 20 years. I also taught History and Language Arts to 7th and 8th grade students at the North Reading Middle School for 6 years. I retired from the full time practice of law in June 2021. My wife is a licensed social worker who provides individual and group therapy from her office located in Winchester Center. Our daughter is a Sophomore at Winchester High School. We have lived in the Chesterford Road - Winter Pond neighborhood since we moved to Winchester in April 2007.
From my legal background and experience I would bring logical reasoning and consensus building skills to bear on the wide range of issues addressed by Town Meeting Members, including fiscal responsibility and resource allocation. Based on my class-room teaching experience, I understand the challenges faced by the teachers, administrators and students in our public schools and could provide a somewhat unique perspective to the discussion and deliberation in Town Meeting when educational issues are addressed.
What are two or three issues facing Winchester that you think are most important and what are your positions on them?
- Long-term Fiscal Stability. I support and agree with the analysis contained in the 2026 State of the Town Report and the Select Board's decision to seek an $11.5 Million funding assessment via Proposition 2-1/2 Override. I believe the State of the Town membership deserve praise for their hard work and painstaking analysis and reasoning. The Select Board also deserves credit for its deliberative process and consensus building approach in arriving at the figure selected for the ballot question. This process resulted in reasonable recommendations for spending priorities and increased revenue generation, in my opinion. If elected to Town Meeting, I would support a similar approach in the future including the efforts underway to identify increased revenue streams.
- Vehicular Traffic and Pedestrian Safety. There have been significant efforts made to reduce vehicular speeds and improve pedestrian safety in many problematic areas throughout our town. I support efforts to identify additional areas where improvements are necessary and funding for construction to increase safety.
- Affordable Housing. If elected, I would support initiatives to increase affordable housing town-wide and as a component of the on-going Town Center revitalization efforts.
What is a special challenge in your precinct that might not be faced in other precincts?
Winter Pond is the jewel of our precinct and greatly increases the pleasure of living here. It also presents environmental and ecological challenges, as well as traffic and pedestrian safety issues because of the configuration of Pond Street and Woodside Road, which require consistent focus and care. I have been a supporter of the Friends of Winter Pond and traffic safety advocacy coalition groups in Precinct 7. If elected to Town Meeting, I will be a strong advocate for the continued protection and care of Winter Pond and traffic/pedestrian safety efforts in our precinct
Why should voters elect you to represent them?
My wife and I often reflect upon how lucky we are to live in Winchester and what a wonderful place it has been to raise our daughter. I pledge that if elected to Town Meeting, I will seek out the views of our precinct's residents about important issues, advocate on your behalf, and do my best to forge consensus among Town Meeting Members in support of policies and programs which will best promote what makes Winchester such a positive and supportive community in which to live and raise a family.
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