Endorsements For Wayland Candidates Ahead Of Election: Letters

The following letters do not reflect the views of Wayland Patch

The past two years have been an extraordinarily trying time for teachers, parents and students alike. As school systems continue to deal with the impacts and consequences of Covid on students and teachers, it is clear that the role of local school committees has become more important than ever. At the same time, fewer people seem to have the courage to stand up and become part of the process by running for office. The Wayland Teachers Association is grateful that this year, two members of our community, Craig Gruber and Erin Gibbons, have volunteered to serve.

As teachers who work and often live in Wayland, we care deeply about Wayland Public Schools. That is why, for the first time in memory, we invited the School Committee candidates to share, both in writing and in an interview, their views on the current challenges we face and their plans for the future. Both candidates are impressive, and we are confident that they both will do what they think is best for Wayland's students. But because this is an election, voters will have to make a choice.

The ideal candidate to meet the challenges that lie ahead will be courageous enough to face the problems that arise, open enough to engage the whole community in finding solutions, thoughtful enough to turn those solutions into plans, and transparent enough to freely share the results of all those efforts. We believe Craig Gruber is that candidate. Dr. Gruber is a Naval Officer and college professor with significant public school experience--both as a high school teacher and school administrator. He was a strong member of the Lincoln Sudbury School Committee before moving to Wayland with his wife (a Wayland graduate) and their three children. We are proud to support him, and we hope you will do so too.

—Wayland Teachers Association

I was thrilled to learn that Cliff Lewis is running to join Wayland’s Board of Selectmen. I heartily endorse him based on direct knowledge of his ability to focus on our most important problems, muster the resources required to resolve them, and then follow through with both execution and communication.

The notorious “Other Post Employment Benefits” (OPEB) problem was my first introduction to Cliff’s style of problem solving. Given Wayland’s financial constraints and tax rate, the legal requirement to raise~$100 million to fund benefits for retired Wayland Employees seemed impossible to achieve; for years, attempts to identify a practical solution generated only contention and frustration. In 2013, the Board of Selectmen tasked a new committee with solving the OPEB problem, and asked Cliff to lead it. He aligned the members of this team by accurately scoping the problem. He and his team then developed a practical plan that would confidently generate the necessary funds over time. Presented as Article 4 of Wayland’s 2015 Annual Town Meeting, this plan was crisply approved by more than 90% of Town Meeting Voters,
with no vocal opposition. Wayland continues to successfully execute this plan. Problem solved.
After significant rainstorms, part of the western segment of Glezen Lane would invariably flood along the westbound side of the road, threatening to pull passing motorists into mature trees growing a few feet from the road. Each time I brought this situation to the attention of the Board of Public Works (BoPW), they responded by sending a crew out to clear the nearest storm drain – but that drain would be overwhelmed by the next storm. I tried again after Cliff became BoPW chair; this time, an engineer took measurements on-site, and developed a plan to prevent storm water from accumulating by strategically increasing the height of the road surface. “Glezen Pond” has not been seen since the roadwork was completed. Problem solved.

When unacceptable levels of PFAS were detected in Wayland’s well water supply last year, Cliff led the BoPW to identify potential mitigation schemes, evaluate each one, and select an approach that now has our well water back in compliance, needing only regulatory approval for completion. All through this high-pressure process, Cliff calmly kept us abreast of progress with concise updates posted here. Problem solved.

Wayland faces many problems and challenges, far more than can be attacked simultaneously. Cliff has demonstrated the ability to prioritize, focusing on the critical issues that must be resolved, rather than spreading our resources too thinly and accomplishing little. Cliff has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to take on difficult problems, forge teams that can effectively solve those problems, and stay focused until those problems have been resolved. We need a Board of Selectmen that can do the same. Cliff Lewis will make it so. Problem solved.

—Dave Bernstein, Wayland

Cliff is a long-time Wayland resident and has carefully followed the issues of what is involved in running a town the size of Wayland.

Cliff started a High Tech Company from scratch. Under his leadership it grew to $15 million in sales and 50 employees. This is no small task. Obviously, Cliff knows how to manage, motivate and direct staff to grow and implement policies and practices that are successful. Wayland needs this, too. We vote on projects but then they take years to come to fruition. A successful organization can’t operate that way. Projects need to get done in a timely manner.

The town has been talking about a Council on Aging/Community Center for over 12 years – well before I became a senior. Over just the past 7 years, the Selectmen have proposed 8 separate Warrant Articles concerning the Council on Aging/Community Center and they weren’t able to decide where to place the building. During that same 7 years, Town Meeting authorized spending $620,000 for the necessary preliminary work to get the project underway. In 2022 we will finally vote on a Council on Aging/Community Center in exactly the same location proposed in 2015! We’ve heard little about how the money was spent and what progress was being made until this past January.

Contrast that to Wayland’s recent PFAS water issues. Under Cliff Lewis’ leadership of the Board of Public Works, a problem recognized for the first time last year is just about solved. And Cliff has kept the community apprised of progress along the way.

Please join me on Tuesday, May 10 in voting for Cliff Lewis for Select Board.

—Judy Currier, Wayland

I want to add my voice to those of many others in enthusiastic support of Cliff Lewis for Wayland’s Select Board. I know from personal experience that Cliff is a great choice to tackle challenges in Wayland.

Back in June 2013, Cliff and I and three other concerned citizens were challenged by the Select Board to get a handle on the enormous unfunded expense of providing health insurance to Wayland’s retired employees, while making the expense affordable for Wayland taxpayers. Tens of millions of dollars were at stake over many decades. The “OPEB Committee” as it was called then elected Cliff as chair.

Here is what I observed in working directly with Cliff over the succeeding 12 months on that Committee:

• Cliff has the time and talent to tackle a difficult, expensive problem for the Town. Our OPEB Committee met about every two weeks for multiple hours, laboring through the issues.
• Cliff can lead a group of strong individuals and personalities in a very collegial manner. There was a wide diversity of perspectives and opinion on the Committee, but we worked together in an amicable way to effectively address the problem.
• Cliff can break a problem down into manageable pieces, dole out assignments, and come up with a practical and timely solution to present to the Town. We worked directly with the actuaries and financial advisors to the Town, challenging their assumptions as we developed our solution to the OPEB puzzle.
• Cliff can communicate effectively with other town committees, such as the Select Board and the School Committee, both of which had to endorse our plan. Getting the volunteer-based committees in agreement is often key to getting things done in Wayland’s style of town government.
• Cliff can communicate effectively with the general public in Wayland. The OPEB Committee conducted a well-attended public Information session, given the dollars involved in our recommendation. Cliff was the one who authored the letter to the Wayland Town Crier and made a compelling speech to the April 2014 Town Meeting in support of the OPEB Committee’s warrant article addressing the problem. Wayland kept the promises to Wayland retirees but at significantly reduced cost to taxpayers. Problem solved.

I know that Cliff carried this same set of skills and disciplined work ethic forward to his subsequent chairmanship of the Board of Public Works, particularly in devising a solution to PFAS contamination.

Wayland needs Cliff Lewis’ kind of talent on the Select Board, so I urge you to vote for Cliff on Tuesday, May 10.

—Jay Sherry, Wayland