There are candidates running for office who have already been working collaboratively together and with many everyday citizens on all sides of the city’s political spectrum. Mayoral candidate Virginia “Ginny” DeSorgher attended a forum put together in April by City Council candidate Jesus Leyva on how state funding formulas for education have put Greenfield millions of dollars behind. Jesus is such an expert on this topic that state senators and representatives attended so that they could better understand how their constituencies were being unfairly underfunded. Stacey Sexton and Ann Childs, both candidates for School Committee also attended. School Committee chair Amy Proietti and Mayor Roxann Wedegartner did not attend.
John Garrett, a candidate for City Council along with Jesus, Stacey, Ann, some city councilors, and teachers and former educators like myself, diligently examined a suggested budget from Ways and Means Chair Ginny Desorgher. This budget did not cut into other departments funds, yet returned the $1.5 million dollars cut from the proposed school budget by the mayor. We were brutal in our questions to her, yet time and again she demonstrated how she better utilized funds already there in the budget so we would not lose teachers. We all worked together. When I personally offered an outline of this proposal to the mayor, I never received a reply.
For years I have been hearing tales of unfairness in the way both commercial and residential properties were being assessed, but saw no clear evidence until Chuck (Charles) Green, candidate for assessor, created some understandable graphs of research he had gathered, working collaboratively with someone already in the assessors office.
If it has made you miserable to see an internally dysfunction school committee that was dismissive to the public or a mayor who is dismissive to public input about contaminants at the Lunt Property or prejudicial behavior by the police chief, then you will bring on a team of kindness, competency, and collaboration by voting for DeSorgher, Jesus Leyva, John Garrett, Ann Childs, Stacey Sexton, and Chuck Green.
Paul Jablon
Greenfield