Westborough, Please Vote March 5th

I'm Bruce Tretter. As a 22-year resident, former 12-year School Committee member, 6-year Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee chair, and first term selectman, it’s been a thrill these past 3 years being a member of the selectmen team working with our highly talented town officials to:

• Create the town’s first-ever strategic plan
• Develop clearly identified annual town goals
• Initiate an effort to study alternative, more efficient forms of town government relative to our highly inefficient current open town meeting form of government
• Establish and participate on our Diversity and Inclusion Committee to ensure we provide town services equitably to all our residents

Developing a strategic plan, setting annual town goals, and attempting to explore alternative forms of town government were campaign initiatives I ran on in 2016 that then became comprehensive selectmen goals. Unfortunately, exploring different forms of town government died a premature death when the selectmen voted 4-1 (I was the lone dissenter) to disband the town's Charter Review Committee tasked with a local government study late last year. That happens. You bet, I'll be back at it.

I’m running for re-election to:

• Make Westborough, most importantly, affordable to all residents by controlling spending. As a step in that direction, mine was the only vote of the selectmen against the upcoming Town Meeting article that will seek funding to demolish and rebuild Fales Elementary School at an overall cost of $57 million (the town would be on the hook for $42 million). I know the school well. There is a need to make improvements, but considering our big jump in taxes this year due to spending Town Meeting allocated last year, the timing and expense now are not right.
• Follow through on our newly created strategic plan goals
• Promote Westborough’s strength through united diversity
• Improve traffic flow and safety for all modes of transportation throughout our town

I love Westborough for the town it is and where it's going. I love being a selectman and working with our town officials to set and accomplish goals for the better of our town. That's exactly why I’m asking for your vote March 5th. Voting takes place March 5th at Westborough High School from 8 AM to 8 PM. If you can't vote March 5th, please fill out an absentee ballot in the Town Clerk's Office - first right inside the Town Hall front door - Monday, March 4th, from 8 AM to 5 PM.

As we've seen from incredibly low voter turnout the past couple years, every vote counts. Please spread the word and encourage your family and friends to show up Tuesday.

Thank you,

Bruce Tretter