Leyden’s had a tough year and our shared love of this beautiful town has not shielded us from division. There is a lot of difficult work to be done to heal as a town and rebuild bridges of trust. The Selectboard needs to establish and implement practices that promote accountability, transparency, and inclusion. Now is the time to do this work.
We are running for Leyden Selectboard in the June 27 election because our skills and values would be particularly useful right now. In campaigning for two open Selectboard seats, we’ve had the pleasure of speaking with a wide variety of Leyden residents, conversations that tell a hopeful story. It’s a story of engagement, perhaps fueled by our struggles, and a lot of common ground. There are many options for connection that have been and will continue to be essential to moving forward together.
No one we’ve spoken with likes division, and it is inaccurate to think that our town is cleaved into two sides. It is more complicated than that. During the past months, we have learned a lot about what residents of Leyden care about and would like to see in Leyden’s future. Many shared specific ideas. We are optimistic.
We expect the next few years on the Selectboard will be demanding. We’ve been digging into the seemingly unlimited resources available to help Selectboards succeed, learning from the experiences of others. This takes and will continue to take a lot of time and energy; we have that to offer in our lives now.
Our substantial organizational experience will help us get up to speed quickly. We have training and experience helping diverse groups of people better understand each other and work together toward common goals. Katherine DiMatteo in particular, from her two decades as moderator, has deep knowledge of town governance and a track record of promoting fairness and democratic participation. Glenn Caffery is on the Finance Committee and has volunteered in town and community organizations for decades. Most importantly, we will listen to and respect all opinions.
If elected, there are several specific plans we would like to implement to make Leyden government more accessible and accountable. These include: holding Selectboard member office hours; meeting regularly with committees and employees, sometimes jointly; keeping our town website up-to-date; allowing remote participation in Selectboard meetings, then posting recordings of past meetings; and maintaining a citizen’s resource guide. Just a start, but small changes matter we believe.
Leyden residents should be reassured that there is much in town governance that is working well. Effective committee work is happening across town government. Neighbors, employees, and volunteers come together, sharing different perspectives, to preserve and enhance what makes Leyden special while adapting to our everchanging world. Because of our small-town frugality and success with grants funding our priorities, our tax rate has been stable, critical for keeping Leyden accessible for many families.
We ask the voters of Leyden to give us the opportunity to serve them, which we would do with kindness and honesty. Let’s all work together toward a hopeful future.
Katherine DiMatteo has been a Leyden resident since 1974 and is running for the 3-year term on the Selectboard. Glenn Caffery has been a Leyden resident since 1997 and is running for the 2-year term on the Selectboard.