I write this letter in support of RoxannWedegartner for mayor of Greenfield. As a downtown home and business owner it is important to me that our next mayor has the vision to welcome businesses of all types, utilizing the resources that are available to our city such as Mass Works funding and the new Empty Storefront Initiative that the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Economic Development has introduced.
In my conversations with Roxann, I have been impressed by her knowledge from her years on the Planning Board and working on the Downtown Master Plan (that ultimately resulted in Mesa Verde getting a bank loan). We need someone who can hit the ground running and work with our excellent Director of Economic Development MJ Adams. (Roxann and MJ are on the same page from the conversations I’ve had with both of them and are poised to work hard together to fill empty storefronts and otherwise attract new business to Greenfield.)
I’ve heard other progressives say we shouldn’t focus on economic development in Greenfield. We should focus on national issues like reproductive rights and climate change. I honestly think it is disingenuous for anyone to promise the voters of Greenfield that as mayor or any other elected official, they can influence global environmental policy or national reproductive rights law. I want a mayor who bleeds green, who is focused on what can be done in our little city.
We can have a more vibrant downtown, we can have good infrastructure and reasonable real estate taxes, we can have good schools… Our next mayor will be the CEO of a nearly $52 million municipality.
I urge my fellow Greenfielders to vote for the person that can best exercise fiscal responsibility while holding a vision for a vibrant and healthy Greenfield, and I believe that person is RoxannWedegartner.
Amy McMahan
Co-Owner Mesa Verde, Greenfield