Selectmen Candidate Thanks Wayland Voters: Letter

Note: The following is a letter to the editor and does not reflect the views of the Wayland Patch.

Thank you, Wayland voters, for your interest and participation in the town’s election. I would
like to extend special thanks to those who put their trust in me to serve on the Board of
Selectmen. I appreciate being given the opportunity to introduce an overall comprehensive strategic plan for Wayland’s future and to work with the rest of the Board on its implementation.

The time is right to address building a plan that considers town wide needs,
setting priorities, and appropriate timing, along with processes for reviewing progress and achieving goals. Many of the neighbors that I met during this long election season felt they were losing their connection with their town. They are disenfranchised because they do not understand what is causing the year over year increase in taxes and are losing hope as they see that their demographics are consistently overlooked with no indication that a change will be made.

This 2020 election may well be a defining moment for Wayland’s future. From the beginning of the election season our lives were bombarded with circumstances that required flexibility and commitment to new ways of addressing atypical situations. One result of the worldwide pandemic was a protracted pre-election period caused when the election was pushed off from March to June. Through those long months, my campaign was coordinated by a talented volunteer corps of local residents representing all ages and backgrounds and from all four voting precincts. Their support was sustained by a strong belief that a change in the status quo was long overdue, and their time, experience, enthusiasm and commitment to the cause was unmatched. This awesome team even championed the use of life-size signs so people who couldn’t meet me in person could at least see who I was. They made enormous efforts to get out the vote, and I cannot thank them enough.

I would also like to acknowledge the two other candidates for Selectman: Bill Steinberg (who sent me a congratulatory message shortly after the election) who has thirteen years of volunteering in town and who expressed his willingness to continue to do more for the people of Wayland; and Cherry Karlson with whom I look forward to collaborating in the coming years. As a community, we have a lot of work ahead of us. People’s lives, livelihoods, and the continuing education of our children depend on Town leadership’s ability to plan for the future especially during, and in the wake of, this pandemic. We need to be flexible and willing to look at alternate ways of getting the job done, especially if traditional methods no longer measure up. We have to move forward as a community, and I pledge to support transparency and encourage residents to get involved in local government and provide input for decisions the Board of Selectmen is called upon to make.

I am committed to moderating our taxes while investing in our schools and town services and improving our Information Technology systems. And I look forward to working with my fellow Selectmen and neighbors as we plan for Wayland’s short- and long-term future.

Dave Watkins
20 Forty Acres Drive