Board of Selectmen Candidate Annie LaCourt

In preparation for the upcoming town elections, Arlington Patch sat down to talk with all of the candidates running for major office. In the upcoming weeks we will bring you profiles on all of the different candidates, giving you an inside look at their backgrounds, their experiences and their views on the issues. 

Annie LaCourt is one of two candidates running for a one-year seat on the . LaCourt faces member Joe Curran. Voters will choose one candidate to serve the one-year term. 

A 23-year Arlington resident, Selectmen Annie LaCourt works as the director of community information for The Housing Partnership Networks, a nationwide consortium of affordable housing developers. LaCourt has served on the Board of Selectmen for six years and as a Town Meeting member for 10 years. In addition, she co-founded the Information Technology Advisory Committee and served as treasurer for the Arlington Arts Council.

Patch: The town is currently facing staff cuts for municipal employees. What is your position on these cuts, and if these cuts are made what should the board do to ensure town services do not suffer?

Annie LaCourt: “I believe we should put an override before the voters and I have reason to believe my colleagues will also support that. The service cuts are too deep. It’s hard to ask people to raise their taxes, but it would be irresponsible of me not to put the question before the voters and allow them to choose between investing more money in the town or giving up some of their services. The choice is too stark for five people on the Board of Selectmen to make that decision themselves.”

Patch: A major role of the selectmen is corresponding with concerned, and sometimes upset residents. If elected to the board, what specifically will you do to ensure that citizens’ voices are heard? As a selectman what will you do to strengthen the relationship between the board and the residents it serves?

Annie LaCourt: “We have to make sure that we continue to hold open forums—whether it’s citizens’ open forums at our meetings or a public hearing on an issue or a budget forum like the one we did last week. You need to be sure that you’re making those venues public and accessible. You have to make sure that you sincerely listen to the people coming before you at any meeting to talk about their concerns and you have to be able to answer their concerns. The first step, we have to answer their concerns is to acknowledge that they are legitimate. Then you have to try to bring information and facts and your reasoning to bear on your position so that people are very clear on where you stand on the issue. You have to be prepared to modify what you see - in a vacuum - you might see as the ultimate solution based upon the information you’re getting back from the public. Sometimes people don’t realize that you’re almost never going to get a good result when you’ve got a bunch of people who think the same way about something. Your best results are always going to come from people who have different ideas talking to each other to build a consensus and a compromise. There needs to be a constant back-and-forth between the affected residents and their elected officials.”

Patch: How do you think the board can improve communication with the rest of the town and other town offices and if elected to the board, what specifically will you to ensure that this happens?

Annie LaCourt: "I’m on Town Meeting, as well as the Board of Selectmen; I see myself as a part that body and responsible to that body. I think it’s very important to treat all parts of government with respect and understand the different roles that you play. So for example, with the School Committee’s budget, my job is to support the general fund appropriations to the schools and I’m responsible as a member of the Board of Selectmen to ensure that we pass our audit. But it’s not my job to tell them how to spend their money, what kind of budget to construct or what’s going to be best when it comes to the education of our kids. I think you have to know where the line is in relationships.”

Patch: A new liquor licensing law just went into effect allowing Arlington’s three beer and wine vendors to begin selling liquor in the next few weeks. A warrant article submitted for spring town meeting calls for additional liquor licenses in town. What is your position on adding additional liquor licenses, and if elected how will you approach liquor licensing on the Board of Selectmen?

Annie LaCourt: “I tend to be pretty cautious about liquor licenses. Once we decided that we wanted to have liquor licenses in town, I thought that it was important to let those businesses establish themselves before we mess around too much with them [the licenses]. Whether or not we have the additional liquor licenses, I would not be in favor of giving them out too quickly. I would be looking for a store in the right location and I would be looking to see if there would be enough business to support these additional stores. I would need to feel comfortable that the new stores wouldn’t be doing damage to already existing businesses in town.”

Patch: What about your experience and background makes you the best person for this job?

Annie LaCourt: “I ran a business in town for 12 years, I understand all aspects of running an organization, and my background in information systems helps me with the issues we face with increasing productivity and communications with the residents. I can help with the application of technology and modernizing some aspects of government. Arlington is probably head and shoulders above a lot of communities in this area in the extent that we can afford new technologies, but like governments and non-profits all over the place, they are not where leading edge business organizations are. Someone who understands what technology is out there and can look for ways to apply it to town government—it’s an important skill. I think I have the financial skills to help us really bare down on our problems with the budget."

Check back with Arlington Patch for more candidate profiles before heading to the polls on April 2