Voices of Franklin: "elect a Council that will lead Franklin toward a more stable and prosperous future"

Dear my Franklin neighbors,

As we are now a couple weeks away from our biennial election, we are, collectively and individually, faced with the task of choosing who will be taking on the serious responsibility of making decisions about the direction of our town via the Town Council and School Committee. We are fortunate to have choices in our representation on both of these bodies.

At the same time, our town faces financial instability and rising costs that threaten to further destabilize us. While cuts to spending may provide temporary relief in the form of balanced budgets, this is not a long-term solution for stability: costs will continue to rise regardless of the number of cuts made.

Therefore, I encourage everyone to take advantage of what resources are available to look into the candidates for Town Council and carefully consider what each would bring to the table for the future of our town. Watch the candidate interviews through the town's YouTube channel. Read the interviews that have been published in the Observer. Reach out to the candidates directly – all candidate phone numbers and emails are public, and though I cannot speak for anyone but myself, I expect most would be eager to speak with voters.

As you investigate the candidates, I urge you to pay careful attention to what each candidate offers in the form of ideas that could lead Franklin to a more stable future. For me, I am encouraged by the candidates that openly share ideas and opportunities for finding new revenue. I am concerned by candidates that focus primarily on what they stand against but offer no ideas for financial stability other than more cuts to increasingly necessary services. I feel hopeful about candidates who demonstrate that they understand the challenges our town and home faces and a commitment to addressing these challenges head on. I am troubled by candidates that make statements that reveal a fundamental lack of understanding about the work that has already been done to address our financial issues, or worse, blatant falsehoods that seem intended to elicit fear.

Thank you for reading my plea and I trust that we can elect a Council that will lead Franklin toward a more stable and prosperous future. For my part, other than casting my own votes, I hope to have the privilege of providing thoughtful and committed service to Franklin if I am elected to the School Committee. If you'd like to connect, please drop me a line at schools@reishansen.com.

Sincerely and respectfully, 

(Henry) Reis Hansen

If you have something to say, you can find the guidelines here
https://www.franklinmatters.org/2011/03/introducing-voices-of-franklin.html

Voices of Franklin: "elect a Council that will lead Franklin toward a more stable and prosperous future"