Some takeaways from Greenfield mayoral debate between Bricket Allis, RoxannWedegartner, and Sheila Gilmour.

In Brickett Allis’ opening statement, he touched on personal and family reasons for his absenteeism at City Council meetings. He suggested that any of us would do the same given the circumstances and he would make that same decision in the future. If there are issues and/or challenges in his personal life which would prevent him from attending meetings as mayor, I would suggest Mr. Allis reconsider his bid for mayor.

Also, Mr Allis had to ask the moderator to repeat every question. That left me wondering what he thought the other two candidates were addressing and would he, as mayor, have to ask during meetings, “What are we talking about, guys?” It seemed as though he couldn’t follow the debate.

RoxannWedegartner, touted her time spent as chairperson of the Planning Board. My personal experience with her is that she was not transparent and favors developers over homeowners. A residential developer, whose project abuts my property, violated construction guidelines and under Ms. Wedegartner’s leadership was imposed a fine that was equivalent to someone premeditatedly causing a major accident and getting away with only a parking ticket. When there was a vote pertaining to this project, the developer would be notified, but the abutters were not.

Ms. Wedegartner also stated we had great schools. Is she aware of the fact that the middle school is classified as a “turn around school,” and is being closely monitored by the state? Does she know the middle school lost an associate principal, two special ed teachers and three Instructional assistants before the 2018-2019 school year was complete and they are currently looking for a new principal? Greenfield Public schools have some incredibly talented and dedicated teachers and staff, but there is a real need for support on the leadership level which Ms. Wedegartner seems unaware of.

Shelia Gilmour, @SheiliaForGreenfield, was the only person who spoke on climate change. Her focus on this issue is to not simply make Greenfield energy-efficient and sustainable, but to actually generate revenue through the budding alternative energy industry. Her reaction to the deaths of a homeless couple last winter shows a level of compassion the other two candidates didn’t display. Out of the three candidates, Ms. Gilmour seems to have the right vision to move Greenfield into the 21st century.

Cathy Gouch

Greenfield