Vanessa Alvarado - The Human Connection

A Letter to the Editor from Reading resident Kaitlyn Mercurio:

Mr. Arena has been quick to call out recent criticisms and has accused community members of manufacturing myths. He responds with quick one-liners that don’t even come close to doing the situation justice, never mind to serve as “myth busters”. What he is not seeing is that his response to criticism perfectly paints an example of the problem.

People feel angry. They feel disrespected and intimidated by Mr. Arena. They do not feel heard. His response to some very personal issues community members have had is to dismiss them as liars. Nobody wants to get “ugly”, but the simple fact is that people have very real concerns about his leadership style.

No, I do not know the specifics about each individual story, though I do for some, but what I do see is a sizable trend of people feeling this way. There is no doubt Mr. Arena is capable and has a firm grasp on the issues facing Reading. What he lacks is the ability to step back and look at the bigger picture. To pull out of the details and deal with the human connection. Vanessa Alvarado is smart, capable & has a strong command on town issues as well, but it is her soft skills, her people skills, that place her a step above.

The message he is sending with his blog response is - don’t criticize him or express a concern, or you will be humiliated and made out to be a liar. This is not the way to encourage a vibrant local government with participation from residents all across our community. You cannot fact check the affect you have on people. Vote Vanessa Alvarado.

Kaitlyn Mercurio, A Street