Candidates field questions at Barrington Town Council Democratic Primary forum
Artificial turf, climate resiliency, education, and finances seemed to dominate the night.
The League of Women's Voters and the East Bay Media Group held a forum at the Barrington Public Library on Wednesday featuring the four candidates running in the Democratic Primary next Tuesday. In that election, the top three vote-getters will move on to the General Election where the top five vote-getters will be seated on the Barrington Town Council. Another forum is scheduled ahead of the General Election.
Last night’s forum was emceed by Scott Pickering from East Bay Media Group. The following has been edited for clarity.
[For more on local municipalities wrestling with the dangers and allure of artificial turf, see: Burrillville residents battling Town Council over forever chemicals in artificial turf]
The forum started with opening statements:
Jordan Jancosek: I'm excited to be running for Barrington Town Council and to be here participating in this debate. Thank you to the League of Women's Voters for putting this on and the East Bay Media Group for helping to facilitate the questions. My husband Doug and I moved to Barrington in May 2020 and have been proud residents ever since. We both welcomed our daughter in 2021 and that has only reaffirmed for me that Barrington was the best choice to raise our family. Every aspect of living in this town brings me joy, but it's the active and engaging community that made me want to run and work for a future in Barrington.
I'm an archivist, which means I work to make our past available for our future. I want to do the same for Barrington by focusing on climate resiliency, safer roads and streets, and strengthening our community with a strong focus on intergenerational living. By Rhode Island terms, I qualify as an outsider, but I'm an outsider with a fresh perspective who's committed to focusing on real issues so that our residents can see real results.
Kerry O'Neill: I'm running for my first term on the Barrington Town Council. I live in Barrington with my wife and our son. He's 12 - he's at the Barrington Middle School - and our dog Rocket. I was a parent volunteer with the Hampden Meadow School Compost Program and the Tough Tiger Fundraiser. I was a Barrington Youth Soccer Association team manager and a house lead coach. I also am an active and supporting member of the Barrington Land Conservation Trust.
Professionally, I'm a graphic designer who specializes in health and wellness advertising and I work from home. I am an avid runner, a novice gardener, and a reluctant handyman. I was encouraged to run for town council by my friends and neighbors such as yourselves. I look forward to serving Barrington as much as possible.
Anthony Arico: [The library] is an outstanding place to have [this forum]. It's nice to have a crowd this year. Two years ago we were in a room and only the candidates [were] allowed. No public. It was different. It's nice to see our Barrington voters here tonight in person. I want to take the League very much. The League does an outstanding job. They've been doing this for many years. Scott at the East Bay Media Group. They're doing an outstanding job.
I've been a lifelong resident of the town of Barrington that I love so much. I attended Barrington Schools and graduated from Barrington High School. I attended Rhode Island College. I've been a longtime member, of the Barrington Democratic Town Committee. My dad is a Korean War veteran. I have two sisters, two nephews, a niece, and three great nephews.
I'm coming up on my 27th year working at the Rhode Island General Assembly. I think it's an honor and privilege to work in a great building such as the State House and to see government, have a front-row seat every day, and help out as much as I can for the people of Rhode Island. I'm a longtime member of the Barrington Parks and Recs Commission. I am a longtime member of the Barrington Booster Club and I've been volunteering for many years at AfterProm, which is a very important event that have every year at the high school. I've been involved with various high school athletic programs.
I'm running for town council because I care about this town so much and want to serve and work for you, the voters, and the residents of the town of Barrington that I care so much for. I'm dedicated and hardworking, and I'm honored to serve. It would be an honor to have a vote from you for the Council in Barrington.
Liana Cassar: Thank you all for being here tonight. I'm really glad we have a chance to talk about the issues facing Barrington residents. My name is Liana Cassar and my priority for our Town is that we do all that we can to keep our community and our families healthy and that we assure Barrington residents have access to needed resources and services regardless of age, income, background, or ability, and that our municipality be as economically and environmentally resilient as possible to face what's ahead of us.
I worked as a public health professional in Rhode Island and Massachusetts for two decades. I served for two terms as a state representative for Barrington /Riverside and in my current work I run a leadership development program for women legislators around the country. Each chapter of my work life has been fueled by my commitment to helping people and making systems work better for the well-being of all. Tonight I'm speaking to you on the issues that are important to me and important to Barrington residents and I ask for your vote so that I have the chance to put my expertise and experience to work as a member of our Town Council.
Scott Pickering: Many municipalities have an identity. I've covered these communities for three decades, so I'm familiar with them. Little Compton has a pretty clear identity. Bristol has a pretty clear identity. I would argue even East Providence has a pretty clear identity. In your opinion, does Barrington have an identity? If so, what is it, and knowing it, how would that influence your actions as a town counselor?
Jordan Jancosek: When I think of Barrington, I think about why my husband and I moved here. We wanted to start a family, we wanted to have children, and we wanted to be in Rhode Island. Barrington was, in our opinion, the only place to do that. It is a place for families. It is a place for young families to grow. It was a place for young families and their parents and their grandparents to live together.
If I'm elected to town council, one of the things that I am running on and that I'm most passionate about is this concept of intergenerational living. Barrington does a great job, I think, of providing for our families and I think we could do a better job of providing for our seniors, and those two groups together. I would love to see more community programming that allows children and seniors to do things together and not separately. I'd like to see us re-imagining our public spaces so that they are accessible to everyone.
My in-laws live next door and they struggle to take my three-year-old to the park. It's not accessible for them and it's difficult for them to chase her around in the high structures. I'd like to see us make more developmentally appropriate play areas. We have a lot of children in town and we should be doing everything possible to foster their growth and development.
Kerry O'Neill: As I've been walking around town and meeting with the various residents here in Barrington, one thing that has become clear to me is that we are a more diverse community than we realize. I'd like to see us embrace that diversity and [ensure] that we all enjoy Barrington equitably and sustainably. [For example], we have a bike path that runs centrally through our town. I'd like all of us to be able to use it. Our streets should be safe so that all of us can walk on them, from seniors to children. I'd like to see all of us be able to use the water on the coast, and enjoy that recreation, be that a senior who may be in a wheelchair or somebody who has a disability. Our town has a lot going for it and we should embrace that identity and continue forward.
Anthony Arico: Barrington is a charming, wonderful town. We have the best schools in the state. Our neighbors are wonderful, our neighborhoods have a lot of history. We have a wonderful, outstanding beach and the park is great. A lot of open spaces. Our families, seniors, and vets have been here a long time. They have served this town well and agree - there are a lot of bikes out there and we have to work on the streets and the sidewalks. I agree with you, Kerry, that diversity is a big thing. I see it and it's good because this is Barrington for everybody. I think we have the best town in this state and that's why I love Barrington and I want to stay here for the rest of my life.
Liana Cassar: The identity of Barrington is that we're a community of vibrant neighborhoods that value educational and natural resources. It's our strength, as Tony said. We have so many wonderful assets and attributes here in our town, but the reality is that there are quite a few folks who live in town who feel there are vulnerabilities, whether it's economic vulnerabilities for them to be able to stay in town, environmental vulnerabilities as a result of needing to address climate resilience and be prepared for climate change, [or] vulnerabilities when it comes to fossil fuel use and the need for [our] municipality to commit to clean energy resources. My work, should I be a member of the town council, is to listen and marry the priorities of the community with the data, information, and realities of what is ahead of us.
Scott Pickering: In the last six months, we've seen major initiatives to significantly alter, and some would say improve, recreational facilities in Barrington. Specifically, there are approved plans for a new artificial turf and track complex at Barrington High School and a new artificial turf space at Barrington Middle School. What are your feelings on these projects? Are you in favor of them or not, and as a councilor, would you try to support or redirect to any of them?
Kerry O'Neill: It was very reassuring to see Barrington residents come out and support the $4.5 million investment in field improvements and maintenance at this year's financial town meeting. There are many ways this town can spend that investment, such as rebuilding the Chianese's lower field, creating ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] improvements, and drainage and irrigation at Sherwood and Soames fields, et cetera. I support a full-time town staff dedicated to the maintenance of the athletic fields and I would pursue a line item in the budget for field maintenance.
This November, Barrington residents will have the opportunity to weigh in at the ballot box on how best to maintain our fields. There is a proposal to rip up the current grass fields at the middle school and replace a good portion of it with artificial turf. Whether Barrington residents wish to spend the $4.5 million on the artificial turf is on the ballot, as is a follow-up question of whether residents want turf on any other parcel of town-owned land. By November 6th, we will know if the town wants to spend $4.5 million on artificial turf or to spend that money to improve and maintain all of our fields and facilities throughout town. Whatever the Barrington residents decide, I will support and I will push to implement it as soon as possible.
Anthony Arico: As a long-time member of Park and Recs - we've been talking about fields for many years and Scott, I saw you many times at meetings. I've been going to meetings for a long time and I give you a lot of credit. As a Barrington parent and citizen, you are an advocate for fields. We have a great town, [but] we have to work on our fields.
So yes, the voters are deciding this important issue at the middle school, but recently the town council met with the school committee and I was at that meeting and the student-athletes were very passionate. The coaches, parents, and the school board voted unanimously to support the [artificial] turf at the high school. Now I have full confidence in our school committee because they're looking out for our kids and if you have confidence from the school board, they're not going to make a bad decision. That's how I look at it.
They made a decision and I know people are upset about “Why is it going to the high school?” Because the school board heard from the people - and a lot of people didn't show up in the meeting - it breaks my heart that the public doesn't go to important meetings - I know Kerry was there [but] some of the other members weren't there. They needed to be at that meeting. That was an important joint meeting of the school board and you needed to hear from the people, the residents, and the student-athletes who are going to be playing on these fields. They were in strong support of the [artificial] turf field.
That impressed me because I didn't know what to expect because usually on a big vote, Barrington comes out - the whole town will come out. We've seen it [for] many years. So I was a little surprised that the attendance was low for that meeting because normally you have both sides, but it was all one side that night and the school committee did the right thing by going with the speakers there - because if you're passionate about something, ladies and gentlemen, you go to the meetings and you stand up and write letters, email or testify - that's what we do at the State House. We hear from the crowd every day when there's a hearing and a lot of parents and residents go up there and [it's] the same for the town. You need to care about your town. We need to go to meetings and get engaged with our town officials because the council members and the school board work for us. We are the bosses, we are the people, the residents of the town. I look at it that way. That's how I look at government. We serve at the pleasure of the people in the town. That's how I look at government.
Liana Cassar: Thank you, Kerry, for all of the details on that. I appreciate the budget and where we are when it comes to what's going to be on the ballot in November. As Tony said, this is something that has been talked about for a long time. [There's] a lot of debate, a lot of opinions, and certainly a lot of information that's coming from the folks who are using the fields - from the teams and the leagues - and to the credit of everyone who's been involved in assessing where we need to go, I appreciate all that input.
I think at this point, from where I sit, not being on the town council at this point, we will need to follow what the voters say. It's going to the voters in November. I think we all have opinions, we all have concerns. I have concerns about the safety of [artificial] turf, but I think our priority is meeting the needs as safely, sustainably, and affordably as we can for the long term.
Jordan Jancosek: I didn't attend the joint town council and school board meeting in person, but I did watch it online from my couch. I was an athlete, I was a swimmer, I was a cross-country runner and I played soccer. Having safe fields that we can maintain for our athletes and visiting teams to play on is incredibly important. The people who showed up at that school board meeting made that known. I also have concerns about the possible safety of [artificial] turf, but I'm going to be honest, I have not read or dived deep enough into it to speak about that here. But what I do know is that my colleagues have said up here, This is going to the voters in November. As far as I'm concerned, there's $4.5 million that is going to the maintenance of our fields, which is the most important thing. And whatever the voters decide, they're going to decide. And if I'm elected to the town council, it is my will to enact what they want.
Anthony Arico: There are some concerns because, at our meetings at Parks and Recs, we have public words at our meetings. There are some concerns because it is a formal landfill. There were some concerns about that and neighbors going to council meetings who have complained about [there being] too much activity at that facility. So the committee and the ad hoc committee, which I was on, decided on certain fields and one of them was the middle school that came into play. [Another field] came into play also, but they don't have lights, so that's the issue there. So this has been talked about overall - [artificial] turf and natural grass.
Once a year, Park and Recs tour the fields because we want to see for ourselves. We're volunteers, we want to make sure the fields are good. So me and members of the commission on a Saturday morning, we go to all the fields, and ladies and gentlemen, it's bad for our kids and we can do better. We're a great community [but] if you walk the fields like we did, you see a lot. I think it was a good idea to check the fields out and keep tabs to make sure our young athletes, all our youth in town, and adults that use the fields, have safe fields. It's important to the Park and Recs commission and the town. We're going to have safe fields in this bond issue will be a big help. We've got to do more for anyone in the community using the fields. We need action. We have great open spaces, but we need to do more.
Scott Pickering: How do you see the priority of climate and resilience relative to other topics and how do you want the town to lead by example?
Anthony Arico: It's a big issue at the state level and nationally, I see it firsthand. The storms are wicked. I was on County Road one time and we had a bad rainstorm. It's scary. On Lincoln Avenue, where I live, we have sandbags because a lot of times people go by really fast and we have flooding. Me and my family got the brown sandbags. It's that bad and it's real. I know, whenever the debate with some people in this room, change is real, ladies and gentlemen, and we have to get a grip on working with our town and our state and our federal delegation. It is so important. We need to be ready to protect the residents and the businesses in town because we're a water community. We're going to have initiatives for both businesses and the homes and work together.
I bring to the table working at the State House. I see all the shareholders. Yesterday I saw Congress people, I saw everybody daily. Being a cheerleader and advocate for Barrington doesn't hurt. I know people have issues with certain things, DOT or whoever it is. I'll be an advocate, working with our reps and senator in a positive way saying, “Hey, Barrington needs help.” Because I think the top priority is going to be this issue. It's going to be around for a long time and it is scary to see the flooding and the heavy rain. It's there, ladies and gentlemen, and obviously, we have to care about our environment. Barrington is a wonderful community and we have our neighbors next to us. They can help us too. I recommend having joint meetings with the town councils around us too, because their in the same boat. The East Bay should be working together in a positive way to work on the environment on this fairly serious issue. It is a serious threat.
Liana Cassar: This is a critical question. We have the leadership at the state level as a result of passing the Act on Climate and as a municipality, which sets us up for doing a tremendous amount of work on resiliency. But the reality is [that] the climate threat comes from a few different perspectives. First and foremost, when there are severe weather events, our residents still need to have access to healthcare and need to have access to emergency services. We have infrastructure that needs to be assessed and made more resilient as well as making sure that our properties, individuals, and businesses are protected. We need to look at all of the ways that, as a town, we can work collaboratively with our neighbors and with the state to move ourselves forward to be more resilient.
We've got a great plan already in place and there have been several events here in town that have included both educating folks and educating folks and engaging folks with input. We have a very strong resiliency committee. We need more input from the community and we need more commitment from the town council and school committee to enact some of the recommendations. So now is a great time for us to be moving forward on that.
Jordan Jancosek: We have plans, but we need action. To me, this is the biggest reason I'm running. I've been here for four years. Three years ago my street didn't pond. Every time it rained three years ago, I could drive my car around in the rainstorm somewhat safely over the bridges - and I can't do that anymore.
I've been knocking on doors and talking to neighbors in a lot of the communities that line the bay and they're concerned about stormwater runoff. A lot of us that don't live near the water think of stormwater runoff as coming down our streets, but they think of the stormwater runoff as going directly into the bay and it's filled with toxic materials, oils, and waste - and it's awful. It's awful for the residents. It's awful for the ecosystem.
There are a few things that I would like to see Barrington enact. I'd like them to explore ways that we can encourage better drainage. A lot of our streets are made of asphalt, which does not allow for water to come all the way through. We cut down a lot of trees in this town. We need to make sure that we're putting those trees back. Natural vegetation is the biggest deterrent against flooding. You can do that in neighborhoods and you can do that on streets. I'd like the town to do more with that.
And look, I'm just going to go back to what I said. We have a plan, that's great, but we need to take action. We need to have initiatives. We need to be helping our neighbors who would like to explore electrical options like solar. We talk a lot about [climate change], but I'm not seeing us do things to help combat it. If I'm elected to the town council, this will be one of my biggest priorities.
Kerry O'Neill: Climate resilience is extremely important to me and important to everybody in the state. It's very likely important to all of you here in the audience. I support the town's Ready and Resilient Plan and I'll press for practical responses to climate change and sea level rise. I would implement almost everything that we've said up here, but something I would like to add to that is that I would like to incentivize and empower residents to do more to protect their shared natural resources in their homes and yards, such as financial rewards for homeowners who remove grass and pavement, get rid of invasive plants and add green infrastructure to their properties to benefit the environment. I would love to see homeowners and renters be able to offset the expenses of installing green infrastructure on their properties, including rain barrels, rain gardens, and native plant gardens with a rebate or some other financial incentive. All of us can be doing things to stop climate change.
Jordan Jancosek: We also need to make sure that when we talk about this, we talk about our homes and our neighbors and our streets and all of that, but we need to be thinking about our businesses and the town hall. If we get hit by that big storm and it shuts everything down, we need to make sure that we have a functioning community and a functioning economic center so that Barrington can quickly recover and get back on its feet. I would love to see the town incentivize the small businesses to help them if one of those big storms hits.
Scott Pickering: Barrington is at the very beginning of what is expected to be a $250 million investment in public school construction and renovation. As a councilor, you would not have direct oversight of those school projects, but you would be managing the town's annual budgets and overall fiscal health. Are you worried about how challenging that will be in the next decade and do you have ideas about how the town can confront those obvious fiscal challenges?
Liana Cassar: There's an entire dissertation that could be written on this one... The important thing is that this investment in our schools is long overdue. All of us are excited to see our school buildings become the places where we are educating our students for the future. We talked about climate resilience - I'd love to make sure that we include climate resilience and readiness planning in our school buildings as well.
But your question is more in regards to the finances and how the finances will impact our community in the long term and where we have to invest in our future. This is a situation where we have deteriorating facilities and this is long overdue. There are going to continue to be plans developed and worked through with the Department of Education to figure out the best way to deploy this investment in our schools. I think communication with the community Communication with teachers, and the administration is going to be the way that we make sure that folks in town understand where their tax dollars are going and how we are deploying [that money] to leverage dollars from the state to be most effective at setting up our schools for success. Getting that feedback from folks and understanding how we can be fiscally responsible as we make this investment in the future will be critical.
Jordan Jancosek: I mentioned that I have a three-year-old daughter. We live right across the street from Primrose. I see those trailers outside every day and I'm excited that there is a very good chance my daughter will not have to be learning in one of those trailers. I haven't lived in this town for very long, but all I hear is how overdue these renovations and updates are for our school. We are going to have to be very careful in managing the budget to alleviate as much of that burden on our residents as possible.
It's a hefty price tag and with a hefty price tag, there's going to be an increase in taxes. For some people, it's going to be a lot, [but] for others, it's not going to be as much. We are going to have to look at ways that we can help to take a little bit of that financial pressure off, especially for families that are already struggling to live here in Barrington and our seniors.
I don't have an answer on how to do that. In my professional and volunteer realm I work with budgets. I work with budgets at my library, I work with donations at my library - collection budgets - and at my college I sit on the athletic booster board. It is a fundraising booster board, but it does come with managing our money. So I have a little experience, much smaller than $250 million, but the experience is there and I would take some of those applicable tactics that I've learned and hopefully apply them to alleviating as much of that burden as we can for our residents.
Kerry O'Neill: $250 million is a lot of money, but I agree that it's a worthwhile investment in the schools here in Barrington. As has been mentioned tonight, education is important here in Barrington, it is very important to almost all the residents. I'm glad we're investing in schools.
I have a middle schooler, so he's already in a great school and we would like to share the wealth with everybody else. There's only going to be five of us on the town council. We're not going to have all of the answers as to how we manage all of that money. What I want to do is look at collaborative governance with the school committee, our boards, and commissions here in town, and speak to all of the people, including the citizens of Barrington, on how we should use that money and how we should construct those schools.
If they're the board of commissioners that recommends we have solar power and that the high school has that, we should listen to that board and put solar power in the school. If there is a decision to have [artificial] turf here in town, then we can do that. If they say we should improve in some other manner, we should improve that. I'm going to lean on the experts and the boards, commissions, and school committee, as well as the other council people on the town council to help facilitate change with the schools and improve the schools and move forward.
Anthony Arico: I've been a supporter of the schools and the people I've spoken to said yes to the bond issue. So to me, it has to get done. Middle school - that was a tough vote - but we had to get a new middle school and it is great. The middle school was a tough vote, and at the town meeting, we voted for that.
I agree with Kerry. We have to work when the school committee and the town council ratify the budgets. So yes, we'll have a seat. When the people have spoken, the town council ratifies. I don't see the council going against the school board. We're a great town. I've never seen the council go against the school board. It's the will of the people. We have to have a balance - regard for the seniors, vets, and everybody - but at the end of the day, we have the best school district. We have to support that and help people understand that. A lot of people come to Barrington for our outstanding school system.
Jordan Jancosek: Talking about money and dealing with money makes people uncomfortable. These conversations are hard to have. Disagreeing can be tough and uncomfortable, but it's how we create solutions. We would be a pretty ineffective and boring place to live if everybody agreed all the time. I'm looking forward to having discussions with our residents and the newly elected school board and I'm looking forward to disagreeing and I'm looking forward to taking those disagreements and hopefully coming up with a solution that everybody can be happy about.
Scott Pickering: We're going to move to closing statements.
Jordan Jancosek: When I was six years old, they wanted to shut down my town library due to budget cuts. For three months I walked with my dad, knocking on every door and asking my neighbors to sign my petition to save our public community space. I got my schoolmates to write letters, and send pictures to tell their stories, was featured in the town paper, and with my parents’ help, I wrote to our local and state representatives. I even spoke at my local town council meeting. I fought for my community and my neighbors - and I won. I'm going to do the same for Barrington.
Climate resiliency - I will work actively towards fixing the flooding on our streets, sidewalks, and homes, and will enact solutions to redirect our stormwater runoff so that toxic waste doesn't pollute our Bay and streets.
Community living - I want to make sure our public spaces are accessible and age-appropriate for all -children and seniors alike. I'm going to make town programming inclusive so all ages can learn and grow together.
Safer roads and streets - I'll advocate for traffic calming, including more and improved sidewalks. I got engaged with our state and federal electeds because working together, up and down, is how we get things done.
Government accessibility - I'm going to fight to make participation in our local government easier. Democracy is strongest when we all have a voice.
Kerry O'Neill: I was encouraged to run for the Town Council by friends and neighbors such as yourself. My family is thrilled to live here in Barrington. I welcome the opportunity to serve and advocate for you and all of our neighbors. I'll push for climate, resilience, equity, sustainability, biodiversity, safe streets, and most of all, collaborative governance. I want to thank the candidates up here on the stage. I want to thank the League of Women Voters, the East Bay Media, and Mr. Pickering. Thank you to the Barrington Public Libraries, and thank all of you for being here and attending this forum.
I've been at this for a few weeks and it's the first time that I've run for office, save student council back in high school. It's been a while, alright. But I've enjoyed meeting every one of you and hearing all of the issues in town. Affordability is probably the biggest issue that has come up in talking to people around town, be it with people with young families or seniors who want to stay in their homes. That is something that I would like to work on and find a solution for. There was an article in today's paper where a novel solution was put forth by Mr. Klepper. That's worth looking into. Maybe that's the way it works or maybe it isn't. Maybe there's some complication that I'm missing and that he's missing. But I think that when we all work together we can come to some solutions on that issue and other issues that we have here in town.
Anthony Arico: I hope that the voters of Barrington vote for me in this primary. I care deeply about this town. I attended council meetings and other meetings for many years. I'm eager to work on your behalf. I am here and I promise you I will work my hardest. I'm not going to let this town down that I love so much. I'm doing this because I want to serve. I know what's at stake in this job. It's very serious. People have asked me why - because I love this town. I want to serve this town. I've been here all my life. I know the issues well and the history of the town. I'm committed to serving the residents and the voters of Barrington and I appreciate your vote. It will be the highest honor in my life to serve this outstanding town that I'm proud to live in.
I can't thank you enough for your time and consideration. I thank East Bay Media Group and the League, and again, it's from the heart and dedication. I will be an advocate for the residents of Barrington. Being a lifelong resident and being passionate and dedicated, I'll be willing to serve in a great capacity, working hard and yes, getting after our public officials in the State House and working with our reps and senator to make sure that Barrington gets their first share because we're a great community, ladies and gentlemen, and I want to serve, thank you for your time and consideration.
Liana Cassar: In this conversation, we've just scratched the surface of these issues. We could talk a lot more about housing, clean energy, small businesses, infrastructure, and a lot more about climate resilience. But first, everyone has thanked the folks who set us up tonight, the League and East Bay newspapers, and everyone who puts these forums together because it is a wonderful public service and part of our democracy. When we get to talk to voters, despite how uncomfortable it is to come to do this - most of us don't run for office because we want to be public speakers. We run for office because we care about the issues facing our community.
The reason we have the community that we have, that we're so proud to stand up and serve, is because of the folks who came before us, the previous town council members and current town council members, the previous school committee members who helped create a school district that is the envy of all school district in our state.
All of those folks set us up for success, set us up so families like mine could come to Barrington where my husband and I could raise our two children, put them through Barrington Schools - two very different types of learners - and have them come out and be successful. That's what we want. That's why we're here. [My children] used all of these fields that we talked about the quality of quite a bit, and they have also been involved in many of our community services.
I love coming into this library and walking past the children's room where we spent hours and hours and there's a beautiful family story about a lost teddy bear in there. But I'll tell you that later. We have that kind of community. Serving on the town council for me would be a tremendous honor because it would be giving back to this community that has done so much for my family.
As we reflect on this, I want to emphasize that I, along with the other endorsed candidates in the race, Jordan and Kerry, have been working together and listening to folks in the community - going door-to-door. It's hard. It's tough. It's been a little hot and sticky, to be honest, but talking to all of you helped us understand even better what the issues are.
When I was a [state] legislator, I worked to be an advocate and a leader representing all of our residents. Plenty of you came to me, emailed, and called, and we talked about a lot of issues. We didn't always land on the same solution to the problem, but very often we could get a shared understanding of the problem so we could start to work on it together.
That's what I'd like to do as a member of the Town Council. I'd like us to continue to have a Barrington that's healthy, resilient, and vibrant, where people can learn, age, work, and run a business successfully. I run as a Democrat because I believe in the four priorities of the Barrington Democratic Town Committee's platform: responsive government support for social justice, economic stewardship, and environmental stewardship. I believe that almost everyone in the room shares those priorities in some way and I look forward to getting the opportunity to work with you to advance those values. Thank you for your time. Thank you everyone for being here, and I hope I can count on your vote next Tuesday.
