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William Heck
32 Oldham Road, Newton, MA 02465July 23, 2009Fellow Newtonians,I am running for mayor because no other candidate promises to reorganize government and reduce taxes. I will.I will fix Newton's financial crisis while maintaining excellent municipal services and a top-flight school system.My resume is attached, and my reasons for seeking the office are outlined below. I look forward to meeting youand discussing, in depth and detail, the reasons why you should elect me to be your next mayor.During the past months, many Newton residents asked me whom I would support in the mayoral campaign.When I expressed no preference toward any of the candidates, most responded similarly.In the mayoral debates, the candidates discussed fiscal responsibility and the necessity of streamlining andreengineering government, often introducing their ideas about planning and budgeting or implementing elementsfrom the CAG reports and CitiStat, etc., while emphasizing in their own words, “Doing more with less.” Severalweeks ago, mayoral candidates Balser, Coletti, Parker and Warren stated that, if elected, they would consideroverrides during their administration as mayor. This doesn’t make sense; you can’t have it both ways.You can’t have it both ways because fiscal responsibility is an obligation all of the time, not an option some of the time. To say “more with less” while advocating more taxes makes no sense, especially in difficult times.On Thursday evening, July 9, I read in the TAB that Mayor Cohen intends to raise the meals tax and hotel roomstax. Further, all four mayoral candidates agreed with Mayor Cohen’s intention! Whoa! It hit me like a ton of bricks. Here we have the four candidates talking about fiscal responsibility and sober government, but, when thevery first opportunity to raise taxes presented itself, they all found reasons to support raising taxes. It made theirwords about reshaping our government hollow – nothing more than empty, meaningless campaign slogans.The next day, it occurred to me that this knee jerk reaction to raise taxes clearly illustrates that the candidatesintend to continue the status quo style of government. I was compelled to send a letter to the TAB. As I wrote, Igot a sour feeling in my stomach, and the feeling continued through the weekend. Then, Monday arrived.At lunch, my 15-year-old son and I discussed the meals and rooms tax issue and my belief that none of themayoral candidates intend to make a priority of efficient government and fair taxes. As I lamented the prospectof fighting more overrides and the prospect of electing officials who just don’t get it, my son looked at me andsaid, “Dad, why don’t you run for mayor?” I chuckled, and dismissed his comment. My son starred at me andsaid, “Dad, why don’t you run for mayor?” I looked up and said, “Get in the car, we’re going to City Hall.”The rest is history. I signed the book, took my nomination papers and left.You need to know that I sought no counsel in this decision. My decision was a visceral reaction provoked by mysincere belief that none of the four candidates are able or willing to do the job that needs to be done.I’m tired of living in a city that doesn’t know where it’s going, and has gotten lost trying to get there. And, I wantno more of it because I know we can fix Newton's financial crisis while maintaining excellent municipal servicesand a top-flight school system.Newton needs a capable and responsible mayor with a predisposition to five-star performance at all levels. Pleasereview my resume; you will find a colorful career of managing complex entities and situations, a record of consistent performance and a passion for excellence. May I have your vote?Sincerely,
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