Tewksbury Election: Candidate Profile Of Jayne Wellman Miller

TEWKSBURY, MA -- This is the second in a series of Tewksbury Patch profiles of candidates running in contested races in the Tewksbury town election on April 6. Today we look at Moderator Jayne Wellman Miller, who is running for challenging against Selectmen Anne Marie Stronach and Todd Johnson for the two seats up for reelection this year.

On the biography section of her Twitter profile, Town Moderator Jayne Wellman Miller describes herself as a "government & politics junkie," but the posts on Twitter suggest a clarification is needed: Miller is a local government and politics junkie, who is more likely to post a photo from a talk by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, unabashed support for Tewksbury Memorial High School sports teams and updates on the town's efforts to remove snow after a recent storm than she is to jump into the national political debate Twitter is known for.

Locally, Miller served on the Tewksbury School Committee as that body tried to navigate the recession and the impact it had on local governments. She is also currently the town moderator, having been elected to that post in 2017. But on April 6, she'll try to move up the politically hierarchy when she takes on two incumbents in a three-way race for the two board of selectmen seats up for reelection this year.

"I am running because I believe in professional management. I believe in leveraging best practices from other communities. I believe we can move our town forward, make strategic financial moves, and reduce the burden on taxpayers — without trading away our town character and resources," Miller said in a candidate's statement submitted to Tewksbury Patch.

Miller was the editor of the Tewksbury and Wilmington Town Crier newspapers for 10 years before taking a job as the Business Administrator for the Town of Reading. She has been president of the Rotary Club, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, chair of the Cable Advisory Committee.

Miller echoes the concerns of many Tewksbury residents, who are concerned that the rapid expansion of housing in town has changed the town's character. She said if elected, she would immediately call for the creation of a Rental and Redevelopment Board to look at pending and ongoing projects. She also wants to form public/private partnerships to address the high commercial vacancy rate in Tewksbury.

Other initiatives outlined in her statement include:

• Meaningful tax relief for seniors. "The current property tax work-off program doesn't help enough of our seniors, many of whom are in desperate need of relief. I propose we adopt a policy used successfully in neighboring towns that offers savings to seniors who qualify for the state circuit breaker, have lived in their homes for 10 years, and have no disqualifying assets. Additionally, we can offer an exemption from the CPA surcharge for seniors and veterans in need. Those who have worked so hard for our community should not be left out in the cold," she said.
• Housing for veterans. "We can provide for those who served our country while bringing Tewksbury closer to the 10 percent affordable housing watermark that will enable Tewksbury to say NO to developments that are a poor fit for our town," Miller said.
• Sustainable growth. "We can make sidewalks a priority by creating a revolving fund and designating to it a percentage of new growth. We can pass common-sense bylaw reforms to rein in projects that clog our roads and schools. We can do more to care for our aging buildings as we work to upgrade and replace."

Previous articles in this serious:

• Selectman Todd Johnson, running for reelection

Are you running for office in Tewksbury on April 6? Contact Dave Copeland at dave.copeland@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Tewksbury Patch.

Subscribe to Tewksbury Patch for more local news and real-time alerts.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).