Woodard for Selectman

I have lived in Sudbury for 6 years.  My 2 children are not yet school-age and my youngest won’t graduate from LS until 2030.  Because of this, I have a deep and vested interest in securing the long-term financial sustainability of Sudbury and the continued excellence and viability of our school systems.  I believe that Chuck Woodard is the only candidate for Selectman that has a proven track record on delivering against these criteria, and I strongly support his candidacy for Selectman and encourage you to do the same.

Chuck led the town through one of the most tumultuous economic times in our country’s history.  He became the FinCom Chairman in 2007, a year before the bottom fell out of the economy.  In 2009, he helped the cost centers navigate through a challenging mid-year budget adjustment as state aid and local receipts fell way below projected amounts.  He shepherded the FY10 budget process through a perfect storm of shrinking state aid and local receipts, ballooning health care costs, and new teacher contracts negotiated by the school committees.  While managing the budget process through these difficult times, Chuck also spearheaded an overhaul to the FinCom section of the town warrant—increasing transparency and democratizing knowledge about Sudbury’s financial position.

I’ve had the chance to work with Chuck directly on FinCom the past 2 years, and have found him to be very balanced, open-minded and forward-looking.  Chuck is not beholden to any political group—he is an independent, free-thinker that carefully weighs all sides of an argument and makes decisions based on facts and data, not intuition or political pressure.  Chuck has also been one of the leading voices in Sudbury on longer-term issues such as OPEB (i.e. accounting for, and funding, future retiree healthcare benefits) and longer-term capital planning. 

Context matters.  It is easy to sit on the sidelines and criticize the leadership needed to steer the town through these financial challenges—however the decisions that our town faces are not black and white.  There is a whole spectrum of nuance and we need leaders who are not ideologues but rather will lead with conviction, challenge conventional thinking and ultimately are able to work effectively with all key stakeholders in the town.  Chuck Woodard is the only candidate who has a proven track record to be a successful Selectman, and I wholeheartedly support his candidacy.

Doug Kohen

Robert Frost Rd.