Various Election Races, More Sad News

Moderator

Current Moderator Brian Walsh is being challenged, once again, by Diane Agostino. This is Ms. Agostino’s 7th run for this office, I believe. In the past her campaigns have been characterized by attacks on Warrant Committees, Selectmen and others. She’s blamed her losses on “factions”, although describing the majority of voters in 7 straight elections as a “faction” is somewhat puzzling. This year she appeared to be running for School Committee, trumpeting simplistic claims about Milton’s school budget allocations for administration.

Brian Walsh is completing his 5th year as Moderator. He’s introduced some innovations at Town Meeting which are improvements. The meetings are run with a good balance between members’ rights to be heard and members’ desire to not drag the meetings out unnecessarily. Most importantly he has the temperament necessary for the impartial managing of town meeting and appointment of able town volunteers to numerous town committees. Please support Brian Walsh on April 24.

Board of Health

There are two candidates for this position, Barbara Mason and Anne Fidler. I worked with Barbara on the Warrant Committee. She is a dedicated volunteer for the town who returned for a partial year on the Warrant Committee this year when unexpected departures created openings. I’m sure she would make a good contribution to the board. But in Anne Fidler we have a very rare opportunity of tapping an exceptional level of training and experience. Her educational attainments and long career in public health at the national and regional levels would be important assets to the Board of Health. I urge your consideration of her candidacy. For more information about Ms. Fidler, click on the link below.

http://snipurl.com/1gkgm

Park Commissioner

Incumbent Barbara Brown is being challenged by Rick Dunn. Ms. Brown has served in this post for a number of years during which important strides have been made in the maintenance of athletic fields. Mr. Dunn has worked with the youth of Milton for two decades as coach of various sports, Program Director and President of the Milton High School Boosters. His close connections at the grass roots of town sports in such a broad range of activities would provide a useful perspective on the Board, which is why I will vote for him.

Board of Assessors

Incumbent Kathie Heffernan is being challenged by Douglas Lantigua. This race, frankly, is one of the more troubling campaigns this year. Mr. Lantigua claims that there is a “practice of lowering the high end properties assessments thus thrusting the tax burden on the under $750K housing market.” This is a ridiculous claim. Such a “practice” would require the active participation by Ms. Heffernan, Thomas Gunning and M. Joseph Manning, along with Assessor Jeff D’Ambly, in a conspiracy to create such a result. The Department of Revenue, which certifies town assessments, would have to be asleep at the switch. And you would expect to see large numbers of successful abatements, including appeals of rejections to the Appellate Tax Board. You can check the link below to see that not a single case from Milton has been appealed to the Appellate Tax Board in the last 8 years.

http://www.mass.gov/atb/findings.html

Kathie Heffernan has served on the Board of Assessors with honesty, fairness and care, as she has in so many other volunteer roles for the town. She is state certified as an assessor. Please join me in returning her to office on April 24.

Another Hate Crime

Sadly, haters have struck again in Milton. On Saturday morning, congregants of Temple Shalom arriving for Shabbat services were greeted by swastikas painted on the front sign and on the parking lot door. The crime was reported to Milton Police, who are investigating.

Perhaps this time some of our town leaders will exercise leadership in sending the clear message that such crimes, far more destructive to psyche’s than buildings, are simply not tolerated in Milton. I’m reprinting a letter from Paul Etkind, President of Temple Shalom and urge all to get involved in any community-wide solidarity effort that might be planned.

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Letter from Paul Etkind, President of Temple Shalom:

"It is with a mix of profound sadness and fury that I report to you that two swastikas were painted on Temple Shalom. They were first noticed by congregants as they came to the Temple for Shabbat services this morning. One was on the front sign of the Temple and the other was on the parking lot door to the Social Hall.

This despicable act was reported to the Milton Police. They came immediately, took pictures, and have begun an investigation. The Milton Interfaith Clergy Association was notified and we are gratified by their immediate and vigorous support. They will be informing their congregants tomorrow from their respective pulpits. Some town officials were called and various people stopped by this afternoon to see the symbols of hatred.

The swastikas have been cleaned off of the sign and the door. The door was painted over so there is no physical evidence of the offense. However, we will not stop at simply cleaning and painting. We would like to have a community-wide observance of solidarity among the faith communities, town officials and the general public. We are checking calendars for next Sunday, April 22 perhaps in the evening. We will confirm this with you as soon as possible. The officers will be working with the Rabbi, the other faith communities, and with area officials to plan the event.

It is our hope that this incident will give all good people in and around Milton the opportunity to stand shoulder to shoulder with us at Temple Shalom in order to confront prejudice and reaffirm a sense of solidarity with the best that is within us, the attributes of decency, mutual respect and good will."