MEA "Net Zero 2050" Question Posed to 8 Medfield Candidates

MEA Question to Candidates on the 3/27 Annual Town Election Ballot

The Medfield Annual Town Election will be held on March 27th.

Medfield Environment Action (MEA) reached out to Patch and requested 8 candidates on the 3/27/23 ballot be asked the following question(s) as it pertains to the May 2021 Town Vote encouraging all boards and committees to support a Net Zero 2050 goal for Medfield.

The following 8 candidates (who will appear on the ballot) were contacted and asked to respond to the MEA question: (1) Selectman, Gus Murby, (2) School Committee members, William Horne and Kristin Simonini, (2) Library Trustees, Lauren Feeney and Jen Cronin and (1) Planning Board Member, Seth Meehan.

The question submitted by MEA is as follows:

"In May 2021 the town voted to encourage all boards and committees to support a net zero 2050 goal for Medfield. How do you envision you and the board you will serve on will support this town-wide goal? How will you help the town, residents and businesses implement the TOMCAP (Town of Medfield Climate Action Plan)? Please consider programming, policies, operations, facilities, etc. Please be as specific as possible, including timeframe." Click HERE to read the current TOMCAP Draft on the Town of Medfield website.

*This is Part 1 - Responses from the 2 candidates for School Committee*

William Horne - SC Candidate Response:

As a Medfield resident and Medfield School Committee candidate I am very supportive of the "Net Zero" by 2050 goal. In my own home, my wife and I installed solar panels three years ago to reduce our family's footprint. As a member of the school committee I intend to support initiatives outlined in TOMCAP, including the recent agenda item (February 2023) around adding solar panels to our schools and / or parking lots. I was encouraged to see that TOMCAP includes a proposal to bring EV chargers to school grounds, which would encourage the use of electric vehicles. I am of the opinion that we need to make a conscious effort to reduce our carbon footprint to ensure resources are available for future generations and I will do what I can to make our schools "Net Zero" in a financially responsible way.

Kristin Simonini - SC Candidate Response:

Climate change is a very real problem impacting our world and it is our responsibility as global citizens to take actions to improve our environment. It is my understanding that our current school committee is actively involved in supporting the TOMCAP initiative and finding ways to reduce the environmental footprint of our schools. As a member of this committee I will also support this initiative and seek opportunities to positively impact climate change.