Frankg emailed,
This message is going out to a large group of folks, those that I have had contact with about town issues, those that I have worked with on committees, friends, and especially those that have haunted me to run for the Select Board. If someone does not want to be on this list, I apologize in advance, and just let me know and I will remove you promptly.(more after jump)
Today, I took out my nomination papers to run for the Bob Carney Select Board seat. I have no personal issue with Bob, and in fact thought he was not going to run again. I feel that with the issues that face our town more progressive thinking is needed by our leaders. What we have done before is not good enough anymore if our town is to flourish. We need to figure this all out to ensure a prosperous future for Dartmouth. As a 3rd generation resident it really pains me to see all that has happened, and I want to be part of the rebuilding process.
I have been serving on committees to try and help, starting with the Tax Classification Committee, worked on the Missed Opportunities sub-committee, got appointed to the Budget and Revenue Task Force, and currently am the Chairman of the Privatization Study Group. Much of this work has been frustrating, and my most satisfying venture was the work I did on my own, digging at the history of the split tax, doing the research for why and when it is appropriate, and fighting for its implementation. It clearly is called for in our town's situation, especially in light of all the business growth that has transpired over the years, and the lack of equal assessing practices with residential properties.
I have been toying with running for a SB seat for more than a year, and many of you know I have waffled on occasion. What the decision came down to was that it is probably less painful to do that job than it is to sit on the sidelines without much power to influence, and watch some folks do it incorrectly despite their best efforts. I think the evolution that has taken place with the SB over the last couple of elections is clearly a step in the right direction, and I look forward to being able to lend a hand. Government should serve the taxpayer, and be accountable to them, not the other way around. We need to change things in our town, and the longer we take to make real change the more painful things will be. The clock is ticking, and has been for at least the last 3 years.
Given all that, I first need to win an election, so my intent of this mailing and future ones will be for communication, and asking for some help occasionally to get through the process of getting elected. The first 2 items on the agenda are getting the signatures needed for my nomination, and thoughts on fundraising. If anyone has a desire to sign my papers let me know and we can make arrangements to do so. Even better, if anyone knows some other folks who would like to sign I would gladly provide you with a sheet to accommodate them too. I have already had an offer for this and I am very grateful for the help. 50 signatures are required but the town wants 60 to make sure there are at least 50 valid registered voters on the list. I wouldn't mind turning in many more than that to be absolutely sure the requirement is covered, and as a show of support. If anyone has some good ideas on fundraising please pass them along to me.
If you also know anyone interested in my campaign, wants to ask questions, or offer comments, I have created a separate e-mail account to try and keep things sorted. It is FrankLovesDartmouth@comcast.net, so feel free to pass it along. Anyone reading this is of course welcome to use my main e-mail address, the one tied to this note, if they prefer. My plan is to always be honest, respectful, and be available. Everyone in town will never agree on everything, but as long as we all treat each other with respect and honesty we should be able to put some of our differences aside and work towards a common goal.
I appreciate any and all help, so please let me know if you have any interest, and to what extent. Even helping to spread the word is a big help.
Thanks, and best regards,
Frank
Please support Mr. Gracie's candidacy in any way that you can. I understand that some people will support or oppose every candidate. I hope that you will not only tell us who you support but also, why you support their candidacy. Please tell us what issues are important to you and why you think a particular candidate will serve that agenda. Thanks.
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20 comments:
YES! A lot of us have waited for this announcement!
Frank your a nice guy but do not possess the qualities to be an effective leader. Bob Carney is loved by all, except Bill and Diane, he will win by a landslide.
Please explain what makes Carney an effective leader. Could it be his 15 points to nowhere? His devotion to save the pasky? Maybe his decision to sign employee contracts with protection clauses that were not in the best interests of the town? Spearheading a recall provision that, in his own words, was "rushed"? My 5th grader could have done a better job with the language used in this provision.
Unlike most of you Bob Carney is an advocate for Dartmouth. He represents your interests ie low taxes even if you fail to recognize this fact. He also advocates what is best about Dartmouth, including the Pasky initiative. If your soul interest is your wallet and blaming others for all your complaints then continue with the vitriole.
Um, to paraphrase a quote, "Bob Carney does not represent me."
Being "loved" does not equate with intelligence, having foresight, inspiring confidence, trust, and any number of other adjectives and characteristics pertaining to leadership. Some of his decisions do not appear to have been intelligently thought out, and certainly have lacked the foresight to even indicate that he has considered the future of the Town.
He appears to act on the spur of the moment, reacting spontaneously to what is going on at the time.
If he indeed cares for the Town, he would have considered a recall very, very carefully. A recall may be a good idea, but it has to be worked out and worded precisely for it to be an effective tool that can only be used judiciously, if at all, and not one that can be jumped on as an option to overturn a vote or remove people when people disagree with a decision.
And, by his own admission, the recall was "rushed." Wow, that inspires confidence.
The recall is, plain and simple, a vindictive retribution against the three SB members. It's not rocket science to see the motive behind that "well-thought-out" measure.
What's the possibility of a lot of people feeling threatened by Bill, Diane, and Joe's pursuit of responsibility, accountability, and transparency that our previous SB espoused so fervently and promised would happen going forward, including Nathalie Dias and Bob Carney?
Say one thing,and prepare to do another???
I like Frank Gracie's logical approach to problems. He is going to make a fine Select Board member.
I'm voting for Frank! Bob Carney has been sitting in that seat for 9 plus years. Time to move on Bob, give someone else a chance.
Go FRANK! I'm glad to see that you are running. Carney is a nice guy, but he does not add anything to the discussion at most of the board meetings. FRANK will make a great addition to the select board! I support FRANK GRACIE!
Frank is a nice man but really lacks the ability to look at a problem from any other angle then his own. It's all about how it will affect him and his immediate circle of followers. If you are on a fixed income and above the age of 65 then Franks your guy. If your not then too bad for you.
Anon 7:21 - Thanks for the "nice man" comment, but I have to say I think you are doing exactly what you accused me of, only using your eyes to look at things.
I can tell you that I am getting a lot of support from all different age groups, many are young families that are struggling to get by. They tell me they also love this town, want to be able to stay here, and recognize that change is sorely needed. They tell me that we have been sitting on our thumbs way too long.
And that is exactly my position. We need to be smart about what changes we make, but we do need to change. Those that keep saying that we can continue as we have been just aren't getting the severity of our situation, and I am finding those to be a minority.
If I were only interested in my own views I wouldn't be out talking to "strangers", or providing an e-mail address for discussion of thoughts.
Frank Gracie has always been very open minded. He will be a wonderful addition to the board. Bob Carney hardly even talks at meetings. For many years he played follow the leader, but when his leader was voted out, Bob didn't know what to do with himself. Even Mr. Carney's recall push lacks leadership. He rushed to get something written that even Atty. Savastano has concerns. Frank thinks things through and looks at all options. Frank has served the town well in the past and he will be an asset to the select board.
Yes Frank I have heard you say a lot but are you listening to what those families really want or are you interpreting it into Frank speak? I guess what I am asking is what do you interpret the needs of the struggling families to be in this town?
Anon 3:00 - Ok, you caught me, I only make believe I listen. It is a fun thing to do.
Your idea of me "listening" would be only if I walked away agreeing with your point of view, which I can tell from your tone and theme, is not likely.
I have no intention of getting baited into a long discussion with you when I know I cannot win in your eyes, but I will tell you that those struggling young families want all the same things other reasonable people want. The folks I have talked with are very happy with the discussion, that is what matters.
I know everyone won't vote for me, including you, and that is ok, so when you get your ballot just put your x in the box next to "more of the same".
Way to go, Frank!
should make for an interesting question and answer period come debate time.
Mr/mrs Candidate could you please explain your position on 'X'?
No.
Nope you don't need to agree with my point of view, just let me finish it before you start in on your story of your experience and why it is more applicable then mine. Meant what I said though as you are a nice man just wish you could open yourself up to the fact that there are others in this town that may have good ideas/solutions that differ from yours, even if they didn't work for a large corporation that went through the experiences that Kodak went through.
Good Luck to you.
Anon 6:46 - I have never said my experiences are more applicable that yours or anyone else's, just that they are a point of information. That is exactly why I DO talk and listen to others, experience is the best teacher but I only have mine to go on, so I want to hear others. No one is as smart or wise as all of us put together, so we all need to talk and compare "war stories" and ideas. I believe you don't really know me at all, except that I am a nice man, which is of course true. :)
I can assure you that I have been a good listener my entire life, and that was one of the reasons I had success in my career, Polaroid not Kodak. It is easy to sit in an office and design something, but I always went out to the work floor and talked to the workers who had to live with what I created. Simple things like where equipment should actually be located and which side the switch should be on go a long way to making things a win-win. The workers loved my projects because they would have input into the results. I was told that I was the only one that did that.
Where I lose patience is with those that beat the override horse as the finite solution to our problems. Bill has done some great work showing that it is not the answer mathematically, and it is not practical either. The best example of that is the fact that we have increased the Gen Gov funds by $3.9M in the last 2 years, and that money is all used up, with us back in the hole again, and the hole getting deeper each year. Why are some people so willing to just keep throwing money into a bottomless hole?
That is not to say that an override would not be part of the solution, but it is not the first thing to be done. If the gas tank on your car were leaking you could always keep putting in more gas, but it will soon be all over the ground no matter now much you put in. We need to fix the "leak" and THEN top off the tank. Until that is accomplished any extra gas put in is just wasted.
Even in the dealfordartmouth days when I put out an e-mail address for correspondence with folks, I solicited ideas and sent out a survey. I found out that even among those that were supportive of an override, the vast majority wanted the "leak" fixed first, by far. This is info I have always carried with me as I have worked on things for the town.
This is why I have now created a new e-mail address, so people can tell me what is on their mind and give me their thoughts. I invite you and everyone else to use it (Bill has it at the beginning of this topic), because if you don't I have less data to move forward with. If you have better ideas than what has been offered, please tell me. We need the best solutions, no matter whose ideas they are.
Just don't tell me we are cheap and the "obvious" answer is an override.
I agree Frank the solution is not just an override, never thought it was. Where I am having trouble is with the amount of time it is taking to fix the leak. While 2-3 years in your life and mine is no big deal, in the life of a child's education it's a large impact and there doesn't seem to be an end in site.
Well, see, we already agree on a couple of things. I bet if we talked more we would find more common ground.
The seemingly snail's pace to fix the leak has me frustrated too. There are those that are trying to move in that direction, and changes are being made, but that is the main reason I chose to run for the SB. I want to help move things along. Some of our leaders still don't think change is necessary, or are avoiding the hard decisions for significant change. It won't be easy, but that is why I am looking for ideas, to help make things less painful if possible.
Please don't forget that the SB has little control over the school business. Staying active over there and asking for more creativity in getting the job done can't hurt.
Gracie is a privatization cronie, he wants to sell Dartmouth services to corporations. Look at Blackwater as an example of security privatization. ..hmmm not for me Carney gets my vote
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