Bob Vincent is a candidate for Wakefield Town Council

I am Robert (Bob) Vincent and I’m pleased to announce my candidacy for the Wakefield Town Council. I am honored to inform you that Carol (Nicastro) Hubbard and Saritin Rizzuto are co-chairing my campaign.

Born in East Boston, but raised in the Washington, DC area owing to my dad’s service as a senior CIA official, I am the proud son of Fedela (DiCorato) and Bob Vincent. I’ve been married to my wife, Tracy, for the past 33 years, and we have two children, Robby and Leslie, and our daughter-in-law, Allison.

I retired as a Commander in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's (JAG) Corps in 2013, having served as an attorney for 26 years, including four years as a Senior Appellate Judge. Tracy and I moved to Wakefield in 2014.

In 2018, I ran unsuccessfully for the Wakefield School Committee and, quite frankly, did not plan to seek public office again. But, persistent encouragement from many friends has caused me to change my mind. I’m motivated by their argument that I can serve Wakefield as honorably as I did our country.

I am running for four significant reasons.

First, my volunteer endeavors in Wakefield and Boston have brought into clear focus my appreciation of local issues. I was a member of the Wakefield Human Rights Commission from its inception in 2015 through October 2019 and served as the first Vice-Chair. I also sat on the Wakefield Bylaws Review Committee from 2017 to 2019.

I am a member of the Wakefield Chapter of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America and the West Side Social Club. I am on the Board of Directors for the Mystic Runners, a Wakefield-based running club. I support my daughter and her wife by volunteering with Greater Boston PFLAG. I am trained to provide parent-to-parent support and am part of the Speaker’s Bureau, both of which are designed to foster safer environments for LGBTQ+ people.

Here’s what I consider to be my most impactful Wakefield-related volunteer experience. During a 10-day period in February 2019, I devoted over 40 hours assisting in the preparation of the 2019 Wakefield Memorial High School Core Program Statement of Interest (SOI) for submission to the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). For the record, this is a bureaucratic mechanism by which communities across the Commonwealth seek millions of dollars in state funds to support building and upgrading school facilities. MSBA had declined Wakefield’s SOI for three consecutive years (2016-18).

The SOI is a lengthy and highly technical document. Relying on my experience having authored hundreds of judicial opinions and technical documents, I provided input aimed to create an accurate, compelling and understandable SOI. Working closely with our Superintendent of Schools, I reviewed the 2016-18 SOIs, which contained the results of a 2016 comprehensive facilities assessment conducted by architectural and engineering firms, and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation reports. In late November 2018, NEASC downgraded the high school’s accreditation status from warning to probation.

In March and April 2019, the Town Council and School Committee reviewed the revised SOI that I helped prepare and voted to submit it to the MSBA. In December 2019, the MSBA notified Wakefield that its SOI was one of 11 successful Core Program applications (out of 61 applicants, an 18% acceptance rate).

I believe my role in drafting the 2019 SOI reflects:

• My “attention to detail” approach to difficult issues;
• My ability to work closely and successfully with town officials;
• The faith and confidence that the 2019 Town Council and School Committee had in my abilities to handle a complex and time sensitive project; and
• My commitment to Wakefield.

Second, my extensive Navy legal career honed my judicial temperament, consensus building skills and policy development abilities. They comprise a skillset that will strengthen the Town Council’s ability to function as our chief executive office and policy making agency.

For the past two years, we have contended with the effects of a global pandemic. Our town officials and support staff have ensured that critical functions remained operable under difficult circumstances. I’m no stranger to working under uncertain and challenging conditions. Immediately after 9/11 (my office was a few blocks from the Pentagon that day), I was assigned to work on the Navy’s Continuity of Operations Program. It ensured mission essential functions continued uninterrupted during national emergencies.

At the moment, the process to update Wakefield’s Master Plan is underway. It provides a roadmap of strategies and recommendations for the Town’s future development. I am a proud “plank owner” (first crew) of the aircraft carrier, USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). As the ship’s attorney, I established and operated the Legal Department. Additionally, while assigned to the JAG Corps Inspector General’s Office, I conducted inspections of naval legal offices situated around the globe.

In each assignment, I developed and used strategies and recommendations to maximize the long-term availability and quality of legal services on land and at sea.

Third, I am 61 years old and a veteran with a military service connected disability. According to the 2020 census, Wakefield‘s population is 27,090, of whom 18.6% (5039) are aged 65 and older, and 6.7% (1815) under age 65 have a disability. Moreover, there are 1,629 veterans in Wakefield. Collectively, they constitute over 30% of Wakefield’s population.

The current composition of the Town Council does not include a senior citizen or a veteran. I submit the Town Council is in a better position to address the difficulties, issues and priorities for all Wakefield residents when its composition includes a large cross section of the population.

Fourth, I penned a front page article in the Wakefield Daily Item shortly after last April’s elections encouraging a return to a more congenial campaign environment. I described how my

School Committee campaign, albeit unsuccessful, was rewarding due to the friendships I made with my four opponents and the hospitality extended to me by you, my fellow residents, when I knocked on over 1,000 doors.

I believe that we should strive as a community to ensure that all candidates for local office enjoy a civil and respectful campaign experience. To that end, I vow that I will run a very positive campaign, get to know my opponents and endeavor to praise them on a regular basis. At the end of the day, we are simply Wakefield residents, not professional politicians, sharing a common goal to serve our community.

I’m ready to accept the serious responsibility of serving on the Town Council. Please review my “Bob Vincent for Wakefield Town Council” Facebook page for information regarding my campaign. I respectfully ask for your vote on Tuesday, April 26th.

Bob Vincent