More Local Aid without Raising Taxes

Greetings to the voters of West Medford! As you know, I am a candidate for the vacant seat of State Representative for the 23rd Middlesex District. I have been a lifelong resident of Arlington and am familiar with the issues important to West Medford and Arlington.

I am a graduate of Salem State College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Concentration in Economics. I have worked in private industry as a General Manager/Chief Operating Officer, and have owned and operated my own enterprise since 1988. As an observer of State Government for many years, I have noticed many problems that have gone unresolved or have become worse. I have decided to focus my time and effort on these problems. In a perfect world, citizens would vote individually on each issue presented to the public to become law. Since this is not a realistic situation, people in a democracy elect representatives to act on their behalf in proposing and enacting legislation. Many times in the past, I have been disappointed by the lack of response I’ve received from elected officials. A true representative should be willing to vote as his or her constituents desire, and I intend to fulfill that mission. In speaking with people from West Medford and Arlington, some of their major concerns are outlined below. If elected, I will address these issues and any others that come before me in the legislature. My business experience has allowed me many opportunities to interact with people of all levels in a favorable manner, and will allow me to maintain a positive rapport with the legislators on Beacon Hill. Customer service has always been one of my greatest strengths, and I will use these same skills in communicating with constituents.

I promise to work tirelessly to support our school systems. I believe that an educated population is necessary for the advancement of our children and, therefore, our society. As you well know, state aid is falling far short of what is required to improve our schools. I will support any initiatives to return a higher percentage of these revenues to the cities and towns, without raising taxes. Our local officials have a more intimate knowledge as to which budgets need attention, and atop the list undoubtedly will be school budgets. Constant incremental increases in property taxes, including voter overrides, don’t satisfy the need. As a homeowner, I see the frustration of people, especially senior citizens, who have lived in their homes for decades and are concerned that they will be forced to sell them if they’re unable to afford the property taxes. A larger share of state revenues returned to West Medford and Arlington will help tremendously in this regard.

These same concerns are shared by the public safety sectors of our communities, such as police and fire departments. Larger budgets would enable them to replace lost personnel and give us a better sense of security. Public Works departments would share the same benefits from a larger budget. We have all seen a decline in the quality of our roads, whether it be nasty potholes and streets in need of repair, or poorly plowed streets narrowed by snow that has turned to ice.

The solving of these problems must be accomplished without raising taxes. Tax increases will not be acceptable. In fact, I promise that, if elected, I will NOT vote for any tax increases. This is not simply a hollow political statement; I can promise this because I have signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, and have received the endorsement of Citizens for Limited Taxation. The state budget, as proposed by the Governor, is 28.2 billion dollars. This is, by far, the largest budget amount in the state’s history and, in my view, should allow the state to return plenty of local aid funding to West Medford and Arlington. With this state aid, we can better improve the wonderful communities in which we live and in which we have tremendous pride.

I would also like to announce that I will not accept a salary from the state if elected. Though one representative’s salary will not make much of a dent in the huge budget, it is symbolic in that it makes the citizens of the Commonwealth aware that there finally is someone on Beacon Hill that is truly considering the interests of the taxpayers.

I am hopeful that you and I can accomplish great things together. In this regard, I respectfully ask for your vote on March 4th so that we can begin to effect change immediately.

Sincerely,

Bob Valeri