[Paul Donato]: Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Paul Donato, and I'm the chairman of the Democratic Warden City Committee, along with my co-chair, Nancy Denise White. So we want to welcome all of you who are here, and we want to welcome those who are watching on television for the opportunity to hear both the mayor and her challenger, Mayor Burke, and her challenger, David McKillop. This is an important forum, and Henry will explain the forum to both of the candidates. But I just wanted to give this opportunity to say how proud we are of Ward 6 and the members of the Ward 6 Democratic Committee who put this together, particularly Henry Miller. And so I want to thank you, Henry, for what you have done. Thank you. So on behalf of the Ward and the City Committee, and the Ward 6 Committee that put this together. We'll now turn it over to Julia, who will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag of the United States, and then to Henry.
[Julia Novia]: If you'd like to stand up, face the flag. I think we all know this. You can say it with me. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You can be seated.
[Henry Miller]: OK, welcome.
[Julia Novia]: Go ahead.
[Henry Miller]: OK. Now, you heard Paul. Thank you for showing up and giving up your beautiful Thursday. I know you'll be home watching Scandal or something. But we got to do this one. The vote that we cast as citizens are important. In most cases, we leave after casting them for two years, four years, six years. The decision to vote always have an impact on the way we live our life, on the way things gone throughout our community. One thing for sure we choose to do, we wanted to have a debate, there's not enough time to do it. We wanted to do a candidate forum, there's not enough time to do it. Because we reach out to the entire community, I personally sent contacted 250 people. I couldn't get questions. But believe it, they have problems. They have issues. So we had to use our own head, put together something that will give you, member of this community, citizen of Medford, hearing from the candidate. We sent to them base question, base matters, base issues. That will give them. And they both have the same thing. to help them out. So I will let my co-moderator to introduce the candidate, because our first event for the night, we're already chipping on the hours, is the mayor candidate. We have two candidates. I'll let my co-moderator, Julia, to do that.
[Julia Novia]: Do we know the order that they picked? We don't know yet.
[Henry Miller]: Dave goes first.
[Julia Novia]: Oh, OK. So all right, we first have David McKillop. And Stephanie Muccini-Burke. So as Henry said, um, we were unable to get enough questions from the community. So we decided that in lieu of a question and answer session, uh, we sent a list of issues, both via email and mail to the two candidates and giving them an opportunity to prepare statements addressing all of these issues. So, um, and who was going to go first was chosen by lottery. And I still haven't heard Dave's going first. I hadn't heard who's going first yet between the two of them. Um, so, They will each have 15 minutes, the same amount of time, to address the issues that we presented to them in advance of tonight.
[Henry Miller]: OK. It's easy. Like Julia said, the same issue we'll share. Everybody have the same thing. There's nothing different. We have in front of us the two timekeeper. We make sure we do it. Because when you have one timekeeper, they usually fall asleep, and they don't get the time right. So it's not like we don't trust. one, but we want to make sure we do. Each of them will have, as mayor candidate, 15 minutes.
[Julia Novia]: And when they have, when they have, what is it, 15 seconds left? I want to do that one part. So I will introduce, well, I would introduce the candidates. We'll explain the procedures and the rules. We'll assist the timekeeper as needed. And the moderator's decision is final. So they will be given a strict time. The timekeepers will give them a little yellow flag when they have, I believe it's 15 seconds left.
[Henry Miller]: That's your 15 second warning.
[Julia Novia]: And then the red when it goes up, and Henry has the power to turn off the microphone.
[Henry Miller]: I get the magic hand. 15 minutes. Now, another thing to the audience I will ask you. I know we favor one candidate over another. We all do. We vote. But one of the things you have to do, save your, you know, applause until both of them address you, then we can share that with them. And I'm counting on you. I know you'll follow that. Thank you.
[Julia Novia]: Since they only have 15 minutes to intersperse, applause would actually take up time. So out of respecting their time, we just ask you to hold your applause and give a rousing applause at the end.
[Henry Miller]: All right. Mrs. David, you were choosing to go first because you pick up number one, right? I believe. Your mic will be coming up as that's a mic in the middle right now.
[McKillop]: And am I close enough that it still can be heard? Can you guys hear me well? I will project. Can you hear me better? I'll give you this one. OK. Actually, no, I think I'll be fine. I'd rather just go there. Thank you very much, Henry. I appreciate it, though. Thank you. You'll need it for the TV recording, sir. It will? Okay. All right. Hello. Can you hear me now? Never, never good to put a microphone in my hands. I promise you that. So we went into the room with Neil Osborne, and Neil had a really great, very technical system to get us started. It was a paper bag and two pieces of paper. Thank you, Neil. It was really hard work. Anyway, good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you, everyone, for taking the time out of your busy schedules to come here to speak with us. Well, to speak about us. I want to thank all of the Medford Ward 6 committee, especially Henry Milleran, Bruce Kulik, Christy Evita, and a special thanks to Paul Donato for hosting this evening tonight. My name is Dave McKillop, Sr., and I'm running for mayor of this great city. I'm married to my wife of 26 years, Lisa Marchino-McKillop, and we have resided in North Medford for the same amount of time, where we raised our four children, David Jr., who is here tonight hiding in the back. my daughter Teresa, Matthew, and Anthony, all of whom have gone through the Medford school system. Although my work experiences have taken me outside of the city limits for most of my adult life, it does not lend credence to the notion that I do not have a vested interest in my own hometown. In fact, it's quite the opposite. I apologize that I'm going to keep turning, but this is a very awkward situation to be in. It gives me the unique opportunity to take what great ideas and ways of doing business that I've learned in several different states and apply it here. It has given me insight to varying labor laws and ways to work within their parameters, policies, and procedures. I've experienced many different cultures and ways of thinking from city to city, giving me coping mechanisms to maximize the best results working with individuals as well as varying groups in individual cities or towns. I've learned over the years the art of collaboration and how it can foster true creativity and excellent outcomes. And above all else, I've been true to who I am. Those who know me best will tell you I'm a man of my word. I'm a man that will stick to a code of ethics even though it may not benefit me in getting ahead. And I'm a firm believer that we are all on the same playing field of life and that no one deserves to be treated any less than anyone else. In over 30 years of running businesses up and down the East Coast, most notably my own last 15 years of owning a business, I accumulated a parallel amount of knowledge that works well with running a municipality. Managing and creating budgets for many years, ranging from $1 million to $100 million, I can set up and break down a budget to see where the opportunities lie. Being my own budget director for my business, I've created and implemented countless budgets, as well as cash flow plans and P&Ls, allowing me to understand the terminology of a budget and where to look for unbalanced monies or inaccurate spending. As a negotiator for many vendors and insurance contracts, I have a keen insight to current issues on negotiating labor contracts. My commitment is I will never walk away from a negotiation if it makes more sense on both sides to find common ground financially and collaboratively. I have a long history of taking on and completing large business projects that involved major expansion and business startups, which in turn has given me a unique set of skills needed to complete any project, large or small, for example, the master plan. This takes good communication, collaboration, planning, timing, and sometimes, and not often addressed, follow-up. hiring, training, and developing over 5,000 employees in my 30 plus years of running businesses. I developed a follow-up tools to ensure the success of individuals, for example, performance evaluation and action plans. This is crucial to the overall morale of any work environment. People can respect better where they stand once they have had these conversations. And they have been given achievable goals to be successful at their jobs. I have created training and development programs for better customer service skills that the employees can use as tools to mold their individual successes. Let's face it, municipality is the ultimate customer service job. I take pride in putting the people first when performing a successful task, giving them the well-deserved credit. I'm not afraid to put myself out in front when we fail and take the responsibility when necessary for the people that work with me. I have accomplished much in my life and I'm excited for the opportunity to share what I've learned in my own community. I've been recognized and awarded many times over my business achievements. I was nominated businessman of the year in my community that I own my business in right now. I have been vice president and president of the Chamber of Commerce in Salem. I have worked with a company called Nelson Nygaard, which happens to be the exact same company that worked with Medford in 2005 to create their parking program. I worked with them for two and a half years to create the parking program in Salem that currently exists today. I have worked closely with many community groups and have been part of many initiatives to move a city forward and get business going. I've worked closely with several community support groups, like Lifebridge, NAGLI, HAWK, and YMCA, just to speak of a few groups important to me. Having been taught time and time again in every situation that communication can solve mostly every problem, but you need to know when to listen and to learn and when to act on a situation. I take great pride in the fact that I'm approachable and my door is open to everyone. I have always said I cannot fix a problem that I do not know about, so let's talk. These are the most important issues frustrating citizens that I have met over the past few months, actually several months now, with a lot of walking and two pairs of shoes so far. Parking. Let's hold Republic to the fire. This is the third party company that takes care of our parking program. And let's eliminate these kiosks once and for all on the streets or discuss a way to eliminate the current contract and create our own in-house program putting Medford citizens to work. Look at a better way to create access to the local businesses that thrive on the in and out business by changing times and signs. Give them the opportunity to take advantage of their type of business. Infrastructure issues like tree stumps, sidewalks, streets, and of course crosswalks. Complete streets is not enough. People say they're not afraid to pay taxes. They just want results. In this area, I feel the administration is not doing well. We need to take a portion of the general fund money that is not part of the Complete Streets Project and get certain emergency situations done. Then we need to set aside annual funds to stay ahead by adding to the Complete Streets Project. To pay for this, we need to create a preventative maintenance line item in the budget and expand on our DPW workforce. This only makes common sense because you cannot expand a city while shrinking the very department responsible for the work that needs to be done. If we do not take these steps, then we just end up with an incomplete streets program. It's time to have a clean and inviting city. the police, fire station, and safety. The current mayor committed two years ago to getting the process going in a new facility. Instead, the mayor put her efforts in a new library that will cost a total of close to $34 million, with $22 million of it going right to the bottom line for the citizens of Medford. I will have the necessary personnel involved in any conversation regarding the building of a fire and police station to discuss how and where we can count on receiving the money necessary to build the much needed facility before we start the planning. Hire the grant writer needed for the city so we can start planning on this project. I will also create a line item for hiring much needed staff that conforms to the projected growth of the city and the amount of fire and police needed to ensure the correct safety for both the citizens and our first responders. I would also like to revisit another promise not yet completed by the current administration. Mayor Burke talked about two years ago was foot patrols. I think that's a great idea, and I think it's time we take a look at that, especially with the issues that we have, including the opioid situation. We need to have foot patrols in our neighborhoods. And we can pay for this by increasing our increasing tax base by our new construction, so this can happen. Communication, the lack of good communication between the administration and the city council. The mayor has stated in her most recent article that she created a council liaison for them to go to if they were having issues with the department head, but it was never their role to go to the city council meetings. Even though Mayor Burke did commit to being at or represented at the city council meetings, neither has happened. I will be at the city council meetings once a month or as requested. I have the rapport with the city councilors and will continue to foster a better working relationship as well as create workshops with the city councilors, department heads and the administration as well as citizens of Medford in a casual environment to allow for frank, open and creative discussion on ways to move this city forward. I promise to make sure that I treat the city council as one body for the good of the city, and I vow to eliminate the day-to-day issues that they're faced with, which are not even their responsibility. For example, hours of conversation about potholes and sidewalks. We need to move the city forward, and these are not the conversations that the people who are supposed to move the city forward should be having. That is the DPW's responsibility. This will allow the council to put forth resolutions that will indeed move the city into the future. The downtowns. This is the one that's near and dear to my heart as a business owner. Although the master plan is and has been a good start for many, many, many years, it is still not enough. We need to address the Office of Community Development. and overall infrastructure of the administration to better prepare for anticipated growth spurt, this city will incur. We need to seek out new and inventive small businesses to create excitement in our downtown. For example, a dessert bar, a rooftop restaurant, an imported cheese shop, a local artist shop where you can actually take a class and display and or sell your art in that very shop, and many other varying shops that represent different cultures. This takes an outreach program that may span the globe using today's technology to travel through different shops. I want to create an office of design and review board that will help better balance the types of businesses in each and every downtown area. Understanding the different personalities of each downtown. And especially the demographics of what would most of the people that would most likely shop these areas. The school system. Let's set goals. Let's set a goal to get Medford's school system into the top 50, at least in the state. I believe we can do much better and there is no shame, no shame, in borrowing really good ideas from surrounding school systems. In fact, I'd like to create an outreach program with other more successful school administrations to foster a community of spirit shared by several areas that surround Medford. Then we can find ourselves in a healthy competition with surrounding cities in ranking and funding to better our standards. Charter review. It is time finally to look at our charter review if for no other reason than to continuously foster new ideas and ways to keep this city fluid and never to return to it's just the way we've always done it attitudes. opioid crisis. Hiring a recovery coach is good. In fact, I know Paul Spencer. I have known Paul since he was very young and coaching basketball at St. Francis with my kids. We're all very proud of Paul. He's done such a great job in his life, and that's not easy. But that doesn't go far enough. We need to recruit leaders from all facets of our community and create an opioid commission. inclusive of police, fire, education, medical, psychological, religious, and civic leaders along with the administration to meet on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to tackle this on all fronts in our community. These are some of the problems that we're faced with on a day-to-day basis in Medford. And these are some of the ways that I feel we can solve some of those problems. But there are so many topics to discuss. I would entertain any conversation to discuss those topics. But time not permitting, they will have to wait for you to reach out. Give me an email at mckilloppermayer2017 at gmail.com. or meet me at two of my favorite stomping grounds, Dunkin' Donuts or Da Metz. So if you've heard all about us tonight, but it really isn't about us, it's about you and what you want from Medford. Remember, everyone who's lobbying for your vote will, if elected, work for you. Some may forget that. I will never forget that. These are the reasons why I've decided to run. I'm excited for the opportunity to debate these issues and more with the current mayor, Stephanie Burke, and we will, on November 2nd, do that. Then hopefully you'll be informed enough to make the right decision, the one that will mold the future for this city. My name is David McKillop, and I need your vote on November 7th. It's time to put Medford back on the tracks to growth, results, and prosperity. Thank you for coming out, folks. I really appreciate it. Have a great night. Thank you.
[Stephanie Muccini Burke]: Can you hear me? Much better. Thank you, Ward 6 and the Democratic Ward and City Committee, Griffin, for being here tonight. Thank you so much for offering us this forum in order to speak to you and the general public. My name is Stephanie Muccini-Burke, and I'm a candidate for re-election for the Office of Mayor for the City of Medford. I'm the proud daughter of Lee, who's in our audience, and my dad, George, and we grew up on First Street in Wellington. My husband, Brian, and I have three beautiful children. We've been married 31 years, and all of our kids attended public schools and went on to college. Medford has been a wonderful place to raise our family, and it's why we choose to stay here each and every day. It is our home. After graduating from Medford High School, I attended Suffolk University. I commuted there every day and worked two jobs in order to put myself through. Those years were filled with learning, and the greatest lesson was that there is no substitution for hard work. At Suffolk, I received a Bachelor of Science in Business with a major in Accounting. After graduating, I was hired at a Big 8 accounting firm. It was then that I earned my CPA license. I then went on to Bentley University evenings while working and obtained my master's in taxation. When Brian and I began our family, I changed career paths and I started my own business right in Medford Square on Forest Street. It was called Rycon Financial, named after my two boys at the time, and did I know I was going to have a little girl, I probably would have changed the name, but I didn't at that point. And I learned especially what goes on in Medford Square at that time after spending 10 years on Forest Street. It was while self-employed that I felt I had a need that I had to get involved with the City Council. I participated in local government. I thought it was very important. And the people of Medford honored me by electing me to serve 15 long years. And we worked really, really hard during those 15 years. This was followed by five years as the Director of Personnel and Budget for the City of Medford under Mayor McGlynn. And then in 2015, I was elected by the people to be Medford's mayor, one of the proudest days of my life. Anyone visiting our city these days would quickly know that it is an election year. You know what that means. Candidates using buzzwords and slogans, asking for support of you, the voter. We hear it from this one, vote for me and I'll do this, or vote for me and I'll do that. So I am sure that you will not mind if I spare you the slogans and buzzwords because you deserve more than that. You deserve a clear description of my accomplishments as mayor and my hopes for the next two years. After all, each of you wants the same thing that I want. We want a Medford that can be the greatest it can be. So when I say to you that I will be accountable, it's not a slogan. It is my acknowledgment that the work of government is never done alone. It is never the work of one person. We live in a democracy and we work in collaboration with each other, and that is why I call each of you a partner in progress. As I stated, I'm a certified public accountant. My professional experience has brought me a deep understanding of the value of managing assets. It is second nature to me. And simply put, a well-managed city is one where the resources and assets of the city are identified, needs are assessed, and needs are fulfilled. As we all know, this requires funding. My administration has and will continue to be a responsible steward of our taxpayers' hard-earned dollars. We will continue to aggressively pursue grant funding to leverage our dollars. Medford's high quality bond rating is no accident. It's the result of careful planning and a prudent expenditure of municipal funds to projects that better our city. Just today, we were listed as a top 10 list of most successful cities by Zipia. We're quite proud of that. My administration has also been accountable where the rubber meets the road, literally through the Complete Streets Initiative, which we brought into the city of Medford within three months of me being sworn into office. We have moved forward to repave and fix major roads throughout every section of the city, which will make it safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and vehicles. Our infrastructure needs are continually being addressed through the efforts of our Department of Public Works. I am proud of tackling the issues of the need of a new police station head-on. For years, the rundown condition of the police department headquarters has been known. For years, this one condition was not adequately addressed. But I did not choose to look in the rearview mirror and ask why. Rather, I have chosen to look forward. Because the starting point of all success is action, not blame. So my administration initiated the process to build a new state-of-the-art police station. We've been meeting weekly now for over three months. It's a team that's comprised of our police chief, our city engineer, our environmentalist, as well as members of the police squad from all levels. men, female, that have been visiting police stations around our state and around our area to find out what's the best and what's the worst. What do we like? What do we want our station to have so that we do it right once, not have to go back and make changes two years down the road because it's the police headquarters that simply doesn't work. Our fine law enforcement personnel deserve nothing less, as they serve the safety needs of our residents every hour of every day of every night. In the world in which we live, safety can never be taken for granted. The needs of our public safety employees are many, and they must continually be addressed. We have done just that. In year one of our five-year capital plan, the city has purchased 12 new police cruisers, breathing apparatus and turnout gear for our firefighters, new trucks and equipment for our DPW employees. However, public safety and public health is more than new equipment. It is the converging of all departments and levels of government to come together to fight an epidemic. Of course, I'm speaking of the opioid crisis. Every Medford family stands shoulder to shoulder with each other in the fight against this reality. When one of our families suffers, we all suffer. So to assist in this fight and augment the public services already in place, I did hire a full-time recovery coach. For the first time, there's someone who has a specific purpose to work within our community, along with various agencies. Marion Ryan, our district attorney, has monthly forums up at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital, where she brings together public health officials, City of Medford employees, police, fire from a multitude of communities to talk about this issue and to determine best practices. This is already being done today. This is a disease that is so decimating to so many, especially our young people. Sometimes the quality of life in our city can oftentimes be measured by the spaces that we gather as a community. This truth has not been lost on me. It started with the rehabilitation of this beautiful building that we gather in today. Celebrating its 80th birthday, I might tell you, WPA project, and we're very proud, and there's a birthday party next Thursday evening, so come on down. Also, we've been partnering with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and with the input of residents and business owners. We've engaged in a collaborative effort to plan for the revitalization of Medford Square. This plan will not be put on a shelf. This plan will be implemented. I guarantee it. And this has resulted in a goal of a mixed-use zone to live, work, and play, a plan for bicycle accessibility, safer streetscapes, connectivity of our pathways, and refocusing on our jewel, the mighty Mystic River. In addition, work has begun on the Riverside Plaza project. This is an effort to transform a portion of Medford Square into a multi-use space to allow residents to engage in passive recreation or simply enjoy a community event. Sense of community and quality of life go hand in hand. We need these community spaces in order to do that. Investment in a city also means to put its resources to their optimal use. We have done just that with the hidden gem, the Chevalier Theater. By hiring a professional management company, Bill Blumenreich presents of the Wilbur Theater, to promote the Chevalier and to serve not only as a catalyst for arts and culture, but also as well as economic development in our Medford Square. This long overdue effort will create jobs, opportunities for our current and future small businesses, and provide an exciting new venue for first class entertainment in Medford. It is my hope that these efforts will not simply transform brick and mortar, but have an impact on the enjoyment of life for all of the residents of this city. I am equally proud to shape the creation of a new full-time recreation department. This need has gone unaddressed in our community, and now we will have a department that will serve the recreational needs of Medford residents of all ages, young to old. And when I hear the people say that our students are our future, I say that is an understatement. I say that they are our potential and that we need to serve that potential now. I am most proud of the work undertaken in support, supporting our expanded educational opportunities in our public schools. Example of these new programs at Medford High include environmental studies, engineering, robotics, and a host of AP classes, a new media center that we're having a get together on this coming Sunday, as well as a brand new culinary arts restaurant, Bistro 489, that will be opening in November. With these uplifting programs, our talented teachers, and most importantly, supportive parents, Medford's future has never looked brighter. Each of these efforts is aimed at one goal, to make our city a vibrant community where everyone, young to senior, in the richness of our diversity, can fulfill their definition of neighborhood, their hopes for their children and family, in a safe, fully inclusive, participatory, and democratic fashion. We are a welcoming city. Being mayor is more than offering a slogan or a buzzword. It's living up to the promise to serve every single day. Whether it be arts and culture, constituent service, or spending time with your children at school, I more than enjoy serving Medford as its mayor. It's a hard job, but one that I love, because every day brings new opportunity to work in collaboration with the fine people of our city, young to senior again, to implement the Medford of tomorrow. My education, experience, knowledge of government, and deep commitment to this city is demonstrated daily. I am very proud of our first term accomplishments, but there is more work to be done. Please allow me the opportunity and the honor of serving you as your mayor. I humbly request that you vote for me. Cast your vote on November 7th for Stephanie Muccini-Burke. Please, let's continue to be partners in progress. Thank you and God bless.
[Henry Miller]: Actually, now we have to thank both candidates, you know, David and Mayor Stephanie for you know, meeting with the audience. And now, remember, we're going to be folding this one. We're going to be folding this one. We have the school committee that will follow this one. One thing for sure, don't forget to vote in November 7. And I believe the last day for registration is October 18. So you got to remember that. That's our job to remind you and your job to write it down on your set, November 7. I thank you. for your presence. Ms. Stephanie, thank you.
[Julia Novia]: Thank you.
[Henry Miller]: Mr. McElough, thank you. All right, good luck.
[Julia Novia]: See you back here at 8 o'clock.
[Henry Miller]: for people running for school committee. Representative Paul Donato, who will chair the Medford Democratic City White, will give you the welcome.
[Paul Donato]: Once again, good evening, and my name is Paul Donato, and I am the chair of the Democratic Ward and City Committee, along with my co-chair, Nancy Denise White. And we welcome, once again, all of you to now the school committee forum. And the chair and the co-chair and the members of the Ward and City Committee would like to thank the Ward 6 chair, Henry Milleran, and his committee for putting on this forum. Because this will be the forum that the citizens of Medford have the opportunity to listen to now the school committee candidates who will have some time to talk to you and tell you what their thoughts, opinions, and ideas are for the upcoming year. So once again, I want to thank you and now introduce you to Julia, who will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance.
[Julia Novia]: Please stand.
[Paul Donato]: Please stand.
[Julia Novia]: pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you.
[Henry Miller]: Thank you. Again, like we said, welcome. You heard it. The vote that we cast as citizens are important. In most cases, we leave after casting our vote for two years municipal election, four years presidential, and six years to come. The decision to vote always have an impact on our lives, on our lives and the lives of our neighbors, our children, our friends. It has an impact on our health and the safety of our community. have an impact on education and schools because the folks we're holding here today are candidates for school committee members and possibly our own individual.
[Julia Novia]: We would have hoped to do a Q&A, but we did not receive enough questions from the city. So in lieu of a question and answer session, we invited each candidate to prepare a statement. We gave a list of issues to each to, you know, whatever they wanted to address within that. And they will each have five minutes to give their statement. The order in which they will speak was done by lottery. So just randomly, they selected numbers from a hat. And we have two timekeepers. And so I think at 15 seconds, you'll get a little yellow flag warning. You want to show them what that looks like?
[Henry Miller]: Can we demonstrate the yellow? Actually, that's gold, but we call it.
[Julia Novia]: You know, it's like a green-red-yellow traffic. So you get the yellow warning at 15 seconds and the red when you've hit your five minutes, and Henry has the power to cut the mic. So you have five minutes, and that's it. And so we'll ask that you go to the front and speak at that microphone. I think that was it.
[Henry Miller]: Basically, Julia will, as my co-moderator, will introduce each of you. Not a sequence, but she will say, you know,
[Julia Novia]: I have the list of names.
[Henry Miller]: Mr. Rodriguez, we will go by the name. When she said your name, you can stand up. When the time to speak, you know the order of drawing. We draw numbers. The sequence is one, two, three, up to nine. So when we get to the one missing candidate, we will read you a statement of that missing candidate and why she's not here with you. OK?
[Julia Novia]: So I have the list of names and the order in which they will appear on the ballot, which is not the order in which they're sitting. They're right now sitting in the speaking order that was chosen by lottery. I'm going to catch you by surprise who I call first in ballot order. So first, if when I just say your name, you can just stand up so the audience can see who you are. Paul Russo. Kathleen Creets. Michael Ruggiero. Maya Quinn Musone. I didn't say Musone. Robert Skerry. Alexis Rodriguez. Angela Moore. Kathleen Cullinane. Did I say that right? Close. Cullinane. Erin DiBenedetto. Thank you. And so I'm just going to start really briefly. We have one more candidate, Paulette van der Kloot, who unfortunately is ill. So I'm just going to read a very brief few sentence statements from her since she couldn't be here tonight. She simply said, I'm terribly sorry I cannot join you tonight, but I am recovering from an unexpected blip in my normally good health. Apologies to all. I will post a statement on social media next week. Thank you. And just so it does not go unsaid tonight, please give a hoot, Pauline van der Gloot.
[Henry Miller]: All right, give her. I think she'll be OK. To the audience, please hold all upload until we finish. We have five minutes for each candidate times nine. That's 45 minutes. We're trying not to go over the nine o'clock deadline. So let's save it for the last, after the last one. I will ask you together to stand up and give them a round of applause, please. I would like that. Thank you.
[Julia Novia]: So we are, we did that already. We're good.
[Henry Miller]: First candidate from the lottery.
[Julia Novia]: First candidate, so number one, I believe that's Robert Skerry. Would you mind standing up and going to the, yeah, and you can get the microphone on. Great.
[Robert Skerry]: Good evening. My name is Robert Emmett Skerry, Jr., and I'm here tonight to humbly ask for one of your six votes to return to the Medford School Committee. I put my years of experience to work for you and the children of Medford. Medford has vastly improved its standing among public schools in the area with modernized facilities to help our children and staff flourish in the best educational setting possible. The gravity of changes in the educational system in Medford require a strong and steady hand. My experience, drive, presence, and commitment to the Medford educational community enable me to achieve results no matter what the obstacles. I demand nothing less for our young people. I work tirelessly for keeping our class sizes small, consistently updating our curriculum, acquiring additional funding sources such as partnerships with the Bloomberg Foundation, Global Scholars, and National Foundation for Education. We've created new vocational programs and a robotic technology program. We've expanded counseling services in kindergarten through grade 12. We continue to stress health, amongst our students in their wellness and well-being. We've always kept art and music programs alive in Medford. We've offered quality extracurricular activities and athletic programs. We continue preventative maintenance programs system-wide, and we've balanced the budget in tough fiscal times, and we have not sought additional funds from the city council in the last 10 years. I advocate to create a five-year master plan for our buildings. set up a new maintenance initiative. Key parts of such a plan will include developing green spaces in our schools that will benefit everyone, and also possibly developing a greenhouse to supplement our technological and health programs at Medford High School. I'll advocate to review security plans on a timely basis. Doing so will ensure that security monitors are always in operation, to foster the physical, emotional, and security of our students, faculty, and staff. Education is the cornerstone of a prosperous community. In Medford, I will place the highest priority of giving our young citizens every chance to achieve their dreams. My school board experience through good times and bad times provide me with the perspective and skill to fix problems, overcome bureaucratic obstacles, and further the successes so that our students can achieve to be the best that they can be. An education attained in our schools permits our youngsters to compete socially, civically, and successfully in a global economy. The school budget is the foundation upon which successful educational outcomes are built. Across the nation, financial failings are registered, but we in Medford are working hard to ensure that hard-earned tax dollars that you taxpayers pay the city are best spent on our children. I scrutinize expenditures to assure school funds are used prudently on behalf of and benefit our students and our staff. I advocate and am the voice for proven programs that give Medford's children the ability to flourish and succeed in today's world. Programs enable graduates to compete for jobs, to complete advanced education, and continue lifelong learning after high school. I require new programs to substantiate their effectiveness before funding and implementation. I work tirelessly to increase public-private partnerships and expand community relations with other institutions of higher learning. I fight to advance educational strategies to support our students through schooling and to maximize the number of students who prepare, who are prepared at Medford High and go on to graduate. I never fear the challenge, to present to current administrators and school administration to provide remediation programs so that no willing student is left behind. If a child in his senior year has not passed his MCAS test, I want to go the extra yard to make sure that they have the opportunity to take the exam, complete their portfolio, and walk across the stage and get their diploma. As always, I bring concerns of parents and the students to the school committee table. Parental involvement is crucial to a child's life. I believe that parents and schools must work in unison to create the best educational environment possible. While parents have a nurturing and protective nature with respect to their children, they must understand that the goals and objectives of our professional educators should be embraced rather than undermined. As a member of the school committee, I never fear speaking my mind against frivolous spending and personnel appointments that are not in the best interest of our school community. I demand accountability from our school personnel and strongly promote the professional development of staff and personnel. I have a few more pages, but once again, I humbly ask for your vote, your consideration, and I've been proud to be your school committeeman. Please remember Robert Emmett Skerry Jr. on November 7th. Thank you and God bless America.
[Henry Miller]: Alex Rodriguez.
[SPEAKER_03]: Good evening. My name is Alexis Rodriguez, and I am your candidate for Medford School Committee. I was raised in a little Puerto Rican community in the south end of Boston when my parents moved here from Puerto Rico, and then we moved to Maverick in East Boston. I moved to Medford some 15 years ago when I met my wife, Cheryl Rodriguez, who is your candidate for city council, and I've been living here ever since. We have two beautiful daughters. One is 21 years old, and she currently lives across the country, spreading her wings and following her dreams. And we have a nine-year-old who is currently in fourth grade at the Roberts Elementary School, and she's gonna get the same opportunities as her older sister when she turns 21. I have been a financial and operations auditor for over 10 years. I've worked in a very demanding and complicated world of healthcare for Massachusetts Medicaid, Athena Health, and I currently work for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. I understand solutions that are complicated but equitable to various interested parties. As a parent that has been in the Medford Public Schools ecosystem for over 15 years, and currently in my fourth year as a board member of the Roberts Elementary School, I know how hard our educators work. I know firsthand that it is important to maintain an open line of communication where our educators and our parents can openly express their hardships with us that they are encountering when they navigate our education system. As a kindergarten parent at the Roberts some five years ago, I saw a need for improving the lines of communication. I remember raising my hand at a PTO meeting and offered to fill the then-vacant role of president. I did not get that, but I have been the secretary of that PTO for the last four years. As a board member at the PTO, I worked to improve our lines of communication. I worked to create our online presence. I built a website. I built accounts on social media, on Facebook and Twitter. And that created more involvement from parents. And today, we have such great involvement from our parent community that we have the opportunity, through successful fundraisers, to give the school computers, which I don't think is public yet. I lost my place. I have worked collaboratively with the school in helping create new curriculum nights, like the annual art show. And as a field day coordinator, I work to stay within our budget and still provide every kid in the school a t-shirt and a water bottle that they can keep with them at the end of the year to remember the Roberts Elementary School. It has been a great experience making an impact and giving back to our school. Our school committee should work with our educators to be the hub of information for the community at large. We can work towards simplifying the lines of communication. As a school committee member, I propose that each of us adopt a school and be that one school's go-to person, that instead of having a committee of people to go to, that they would have one person to go to that they can speak to openly. And that person can rotate regularly. It doesn't have to be the same person all the time. And this would give not only every committee member the opportunity to gain the pulse of every school, but it would also give every school the opportunity to get to know every committee member. And I think that is very important when navigating the complexities of our very diverse communities. So when elected, I will work towards opening up those lines of communications and building that awareness and creating a social media presence with our parents, staff, and administrators of this great community. And I thank you for watching. And vote for me, Alexis Rodriguez, for school committee on November 7.
[Henry Miller]: Thank you, Alex. Mia.
[Julia Novia]: Mia.
[Mea Quinn Mustone]: I was just going to thank Rep Tonato because I was nervous and he serenaded me. You can call me sweetheart. So I feel a little better now, but he's gone. Um, good evening. My name is Mia Quinn, my stone, and I'd like to thank you all for being here. I am running for reelection of the Medford school committee. My husband, Tim and I are the parents of six children. Quinns 15, this gets tiresome, Teagan 12, Cullen 11, Nevin 9, Rowan 8, and Declan 5. Two of my children attend the Andrews Middle School and three attend the Roberts Elementary School. I proudly and humbly ask for your vote in my re-election bid for the Medford School Committee. For the past 20 months, I have been serving as a school committee member. While many of our goals have been achieved, there are still many to work on. We addressed issues relevant to most parents, school bus transportation, large class sizes, special education, student safety, student enrichment, and building and grounds maintenance. As a school committee member, I have learned to work well with the mayor, my fellow school committee members, and the chief of police to accomplish some concrete improvements. I helped to address the overcrowding on some of our school buses. In regards to class size, we have maintained and supported small classroom sizes throughout the district. As a committee member, I have had the opportunity to work closely with the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee, addressing and ensuring all students' needs are achieved. Our student enrichment has been enhanced as well with the hiring of two additional music teachers. A concern that was brought to my attention as a new committee member was the need to address the maintenance and beautification of Medford High School. With the mayor's support, aesthetic improvements are happening at the high school and more improvements are in the works. If reelected, I would like to implement a master facilities plan addressing the upkeep and care of all our school buildings. Please reach out to me if you have suggestions on how we can improve the physical space of the high school or the other school buildings. At this same type of forum two years ago when I first ran, I said throughout my candidate statement, I will ask for you. That was my tagline. I will ask for you. And as I reflect on the last 20 months, I believe I have asked for you. Whether it was an IEP concern, an athletic question, a safety recommendation, a curriculum inquiry, I have asked the appropriate Medford Public Schools staff member. And while the answer wasn't always what we had hoped for, I lobbied and petitioned for the parents. And I'm hoping that you continue to give me that opportunity to ask for you. Without question, I am invested in our schools and committed to ensuring that every child receives a caring, safe, and challenging educational experience. that will prepare them for the future. I encourage you to get in touch with me via email, Mia, M-E-A, I'm the Irish Mia, Mary Elizabeth Ann, Mustone at yahoo.com, Facebook, Mia Quinn Mustone. My home phone is 781-391-5909. And I ask for your vote on November 7th. Thanks so much.
[Henry Miller]: Thank you, Mia. Angela Moore.
[Angela Moore]: Hi, Medford residents. My name is Angela Monsell-Moore, and I'm a candidate for one of the six school committee seats. By way of introduction, my family moved to Medford from Ireland when I was six, and I started in Medford Public Schools. I graduated from Medford High in 1994. I have a degree in biochemistry and religious studies, as well as radiological sciences, x-ray technology, and I'm a certified kickboxing and Muay Thai instructor. My husband and I decided to stay in Medford and raise our four children here. My twins are in their second year of college. I have a son that is a sixth grader at the Andrews and a daughter that is a fourth grader at the Roberts. As a graduate of Medford Public Schools and now a parent of students in the schools, I have a unique perspective on what seems to work well within our schools and what could be improved upon. Knowing children in Medford that attend schools at each level, from elementary through high school, as well as interacting with parents at all levels, has allowed me an opportunity to gain insights into the strengths of our schools, as well as the concerns of parents and students. Throughout this campaign, many people have asked me why am I running for school committee. My answer is simple, and it's always the same. I believe in Medford Public Schools. I believe our schools can be even better. I believe children deserve the best possible education, no matter what their abilities or resources are. I know I can add a new dimension to the school committee and am of the opinion that I can't expect anyone else to do a job I'm not willing to do myself. Among the issues I would promote as a committee member is the continued progress being made at the Medford Vocational Technical High School and Medford High School. Medford is one of the only local communities that's fortunate enough to have both schools as part of one campus. Efforts to integrate both schools need to continue with academic opportunities for the students of the voc tech expanding and career and technical opportunities for high school students being cultivated. New shops as well as renovations and acquiring up-to-date equipment should be a top priority. I truly believe career and technical education needs to be prioritized. Not every student will take an academic path toward a four-year college. We need to make sure the education we provide them ensures they will be well prepared and successful in the careers they chose. Bolstering our community education offerings could provide revenue to see this progress continue. My oldest children were among the first class of students to attend the new elementary schools from kindergarten through fifth grade. Throughout the years, these schools have not been funded for proper maintenance, forcing reactive repairs versus proactive routine yearly maintenance. In order for these buildings to properly serve Medford students for the long term, it is essential that a proper maintenance schedule be funded and implemented. My family is fortunate enough to be able to walk to the Roberts. With that being said, I am acutely aware of the safety challenges students face while traveling to and from school. Issues with bus safety, overcrowding, and scheduling are recurring each year and should be addressed. Walkers face their own challenges with dangerous areas for crosswalks or no crosswalks at all. poor signage for school zones, and accessibility issues. All children deserve a safe route to and from school. Choosing to run for school committee was not a decision I made lightly. The issues listed previously were just part of the catalyst for my decision. If elected, I would work to be the voice of the parents and the students. Our schools do not operate solely on paper or within City Hall. I am determined to take the politics out of the committee and make decisions regarding our schools a collaboration of all committee members, parents, and administrators, students, and community input. I respectfully ask for one of your votes on November 7th. Thank you.
[Henry Miller]: Thank you, Angela.
[Michael Ruggiero]: Friends and neighbors, my name is Michael Leggero, and I'm running for school committee. Let me tell you why. Somewhere in Medford, a baby was born. Lovely, curious, and if anything like my pumpkins, a bit of a troublemaker. Soon this beautiful child will be entering kindergarten with my son, Kason. Until I had a child, I could only see the rough outline of responsibility drawn by fatherhood. Yet being a parent has opened my eyes beyond the circle of my own family. As a math teacher with over seven years experience, I know education is destiny. Every kindergartner's future is shaped by the parents and administrators and teachers standing in front of them. It is an awesome responsibility. The parents of Medford invest in our school system. It is your responsibility to elect the most capable candidates onto our school committee. Thank you for your time and considering my unique set of experiences. But before I jabber on about myself, let's talk about our schools. The Mustangs make our city proud, but is it too outrageous to imagine our schools as the best in Massachusetts? In the 80s, Medford was placed at the top of almost every school ranking in Massachusetts. People traveled the world to visit our schools, believe it or not. Now, well, we've fallen into the middle of the pack. U.S. News and World Report ranks Arlington 12th, Somerville 69th, Everett 89th in Massachusetts. Medford, we didn't even crack into the top 100. Great Schools, it's an online website, ranks our district 5 out of 10. Boston Magazine recently ranked Medford 89 out of 125 Boston-area schools. Our four-year graduation rate has fallen from 87% a few years ago to 80% now. These rankings are a wake-up call. All students should aim as high as possible. Let's not settle for okay. Let's make our schools the best in Massachusetts. No, strike that. Let's play as hard as our musk gangs fight. Let's be the best school in America. My teaching career has stretched from Philadelphia to Shanghai. I have experience teaching mathematics at both elite universities and highly ranked public schools. I helped build a successful math team in Houston, and I hope you give me the opportunity to fortify the schools here in Medford. Currently, I run an organic blueberry farm in Massachusetts. As a small business owner, I know how to stretch a buck. I know that throwing money at a problem will not solve poor planning. Customers demand responsive business. I hope to add this type of responsiveness to our schools. Here's some plans to help us move forward. Because Henry won't give me 10 minutes, I only have time for four. First, we need to make our school committee more accessible. As a parent of two little boys, I can tell you from personal experience that 6.30 on a weekday is a tough time to make it. What I suggest is that we rotate our school committee meetings into the weekends, at least once a month, and provide parents with some entertainment for their kids. This way, excited kids and tired parents will have an opportunity to speak about what's going on with our schools. Let's extend relationships with the local universities. Right now we have a really great relationship with Tufts. Let's look to schools like MIT and Harvard and open internship and lecture opportunities. Third, we need to reduce the disparities between the schools here in Medford. The Andrews and the McGlynn, for example, it is unacceptable that poverty rates at one school is half the poverty rate at the other school. We need to make sure that parity is achieved. Fourth, let's improve relationships with parents of special needs children. By far the biggest complaint that I hear as I've been knocking on doors among parents is the resistance to individual education plans. As a teacher, I acted as a liaison between parents and administrators. I will continue this work on our school committee. My campaign is about creating the most successful and transparent school district in Massachusetts. If you have some time, check out my website, takegovernment.com, or call me directly. My home number is 781-866-2191. I'm always happy to talk, hopefully after my boys are in bed. The children of Medford deserve the best. Join me, and let's take our schools from good to great.
[Erin DiBenedetto]: Hello, I'm Erin DiBenedetto and I'm running for re-election to the Method School Committee. My goal as a committee member is to be a leader who has the experience and the relationships to deliver a solid innovation for Method. Having served three terms on the Method School Committee, I'm bringing my record of fighting for residents and community organizing to our city. As a school committee member, I commit to work to make sure everyone in our district has the opportunity to succeed. I promise to be that honest voice of reason for all our Medford children. My husband Joe and I moved to Medford in 1987 and raised our two children, both of which graduated from Medford High School. Joey is a graduate of Worcester State University and is getting his master's degree in public health And my Caitlin, she's a graduate of Tufts University and is getting her degree as a nurse practitioner. My job as a special education coordinator for Prospect Hill Academy, where I advocate for children, gives me a unique insight to improving our schools. I bring my knowledge of working in a school every day to our committee. In 2011, when my youngest graduated, I decided to run for Medford School Committee because my voice needed to be heard and because all children deserve the best education a city can offer. Some of the things that have been accomplished while working with other members of the committee have been to ensure we have a balanced budget with any need for supplemental appropriations. Our committee has creatively and resourcefully developed additional sources of revenue. The planning and implementation of technology upgrades and our new science labs at Medford High School are major accomplishments. These projects are not only offering the best education for our high school students, but they have increased programming for our vocational students. As a committee, we have reviewed new legislation regularly, Our committees have submitted medical emergency plans, concussion plans, and bullying plans to the state. Upgrades have been made at our Curtis Tufts School, as well as our Kids' Corner for our youngest learners. We have worked hard to keep our class size small. We have purchased new ELA and math programs for our elementary schools, and there have been many, many more accomplishments. When involved in interviewing and hiring our new principals or evaluating our superintendent, we always try to be the voice of the parents and the students in our community. While we have done some amazing work, there is much more to do. As a committee, we need to ensure our students are prepared to compete globally for spots at our country's best universities. We are responsible to make sure the programs offered to our children are supported with the material and the supplies needed for our students to have maximum access to the curriculum. We need to preserve our traditional vocational programs while we keep pace with the changing needs in our workforce. We need to analyze our testing scores and make sure we are meeting the needs of all our students So they all have every opportunity to excel. We need to build online learning opportunities so all students have a way to access the curriculum and we meet all our children's needs. We need to invest in our buildings to maintain them for the years to come while working to keep our students and staff safe. We need to have open communication with administration, teachers, students, and parents. In the coming years, this committee may be involved in hiring a new superintendent of schools, which I think is going to be one of the most important roles our future committee will be undertaking. I've learned from my many years of community involvement that some of the best ideas in government come from the neighborhoods, not the bureaucrats. That's why I'm asking you to reach out to me at 781-254-0095 with any ideas or concerns or ways that I can help you or your child. That's also a reason, while I am asking for your vote on November 7th to continue my work to be the honest voice of reason for all our Method children. Thank you.
[Henry Miller]: Thank you, Erin.
[Kathy Kreatz]: Hi, everybody. My name is Kathy Miles-Kreatz, and I'm running for re-election for Medford School Committee. I just want to simply say thank you to Henley Miller and the Democratic Ward Committee for having this candidate night. So I'm running for re-election for Medford School Committee, and I'm a Medford High School graduate. I grew up in Medford. My parents moved here when I was four months old. I went to the Waite School, which was the neighborhood school. I went to the Hobbs Junior High. I went to Medford High School and I graduated class of 1990. My husband graduated Medford Vocational one year before me and my son, like his dad, is enrolled in the Medford Vocational High School and he's enrolled in the robotics engineering program. Immediately after graduating high school, I went to college and I went to Suffolk University. I commuted and I worked two jobs while going to college so that I could maintain work and school and paying some of my education. After I graduated college, I immediately began working at State Street. I worked there for 13 years, and then shortly after my son, who I adopted, came over here from Korea, I wanted to work from home, so I established my own licensed family daycare business, so I could stay home and take care of him. When he went to kindergarten, I started working at Mass Teachers Retirement System. So shortly after my son moved on from middle school to high school, I missed the interactions at the elementary school and the middle school levels, and I was interested in running for school committee. So I ran the first time, and here I am running again. And some of the accomplishments that I have to talk about while I was on school committee in my first term were, I set out that for my plan was that I was going to go out to each and every school, meet with the principals, do a site tour, and do classroom observations. And I did that. I accomplished that. and I have some great stories to share about going to the classroom observations. I went out to each elementary school, and I went to the Roberts Elementary, and I sat through a little observation in the kindergarten where the students were doing K-Focus, and the little group I was put with was doing acting out dramatic play, The Three Little Pigs, and they were cutting out with construction paper, and they were kind of acting out The Three Little Pigs. It was just amazing. I've been to the Columbus Elementary School. The children were writing out commercials. Later that year, I was invited back to go see the commercials acted out, and they walked down the red carpet. I've been to the Brooks Elementary, where the students were dressed up to portray somebody in history, and they recited who they were representing. I've been to the McGlynn Elementary to see their hydroponics project, and the day I went, the lettuce that they were growing was ready to be cut, So we had a taste testing, and the students brought in some of their salad dressings. So one of my things that I've been doing is just going out to the schools and being there and seeing what the students are doing, working with the teachers and the administrators. And I want to continue doing that. I've been on field trips with the middle school. We went to the Museum of Science. I've been on a field trip with the high school. We went to the Day at the Hill. I want to continue to do that. I've been a very big advocate for the Medford Vocational Schools. We have 20 programs. We've reduced our students going to Minuteman, so we're saving money. We have a partnership with Everett, and we have tuition coming in from Everett. Students are taking courses at the Medford Vocational School. I'm on the Robotics Engineering Advisory Committee, and I'm just so very proud of all of the equipment that we have in our robotics shop. We started out with just 3D printers. We have a CNC, we have a mill, a lathe, we have a water jet, we have equipment that's industry ready that compares to some of our local colleges that I've seen when I've gone on college tours. It's just incredible what our students know and what they're learning right now, hands on. They're going on co-ops. at companies and they're earning above $6 above minimum wage right now while they're in high school seniors. It's incredible. I am so proud of our Medford Vocational and Medford High School and I'm happy to say that right now all of our students graduate from Medford High School, Medford Folk are now under one. And they can now access post-secondary education. They can go to college. They can go to career. They can go in the union. That option is there for all of our students. And we made that possible with the merger that just happened. There's still a lot to be done. and I look forward to the next couple of years, so I appreciate your vote for another term on the Medford School Committee. Thank you very much. Remember to vote November 7th. Kathy Kreatz, re-elect Medford School Committee. Thank you very much.
[Henry Miller]: Thank you, Kathy. Next, Kathleen Cullinan.
[SPEAKER_09]: Hi. Good evening, everyone. My name is Katie Ma Cullinane. On the ballot, it's Kathleen Cullinane. Most people know me as Katie. I grew up in Medford. And I am one of seven. The Ma's go back for a long way. But I went through the school system. I went to the Dame School. From the Dame, I went to Lincoln Junior High, where I met my husband, Scott. And from there, I graduated Medford High School, class of 1989. My husband graduated 1989 also from the Medford Vocational School. From there, I went to nursing school, Library College in Boston. And I worked in the nursing field for years. I also got married to my husband. We have three children. And with that, I'm a mother of three, Mary, Kate, Megan, and Liam. And I've seen our community transform from small neighborhood schools into the 21st century. And we have better facilities, stronger core for the education. We've had technology updates and community outreach. However, despite all these changes, there's always room for greatness and improvement. Mary Kate and Megan are attending college right now. My son, Liam, is a senior. Throughout Mary-Kate and Megan's career in the academics of our school system, they struggled. But with that, they were able to achieve what they needed to do to get to college. They were on IEPs, which is an early individualized education plan. But I was a strong advocate to make sure that they were able to move on and be successful and attend college right now. As far as special education, like I said, I am a strong advocate. And there's a lot of programs that we could do to make our school system much better. As far as special education, there is most people, I'm not sure if you know this, 20% of the Americans who have a disability, which means that one fifth of our population you know, needs money. So we need to advocate for that. So one-fifth of the budget should go towards special education. Also, we are coming into times where social emotional learning is a big thing within our system. And there are some programs out there as far as Open Circle, which is a research program. that I know is done in other school systems, which would be great if we could have that in our approach. Like I said, we also have the opioid crisis right now, which maybe we can revamp our DARE program. As of before, we used to address the current issues, and our issues have changed, obviously. possibly do community partnership with our police officers and revamp everything. For example, the drunk driving issue was the big issue back when I was in school. But as of now, in a whole, we had 250 drunk driving death related deaths with the drinking and driving as compared to 2,500 10 years ago. Our new focus is marijuana. the opiates, and we need to change our program as far as being more aware and not being afraid to have different programs within our system. Cultural enhancements, we face changes every day. The demographics of Medford are changing. We need to keep our city alive. As far as when I grew up, we always took field trips to the Royal House. That was big. And the Paul Revere run, which is in April, Patriot's Day, he would come down Main Street, stop at the Craddock Bridge. We need to keep that alive. We need to enhance what we have within our city to make it better, not to just learn about everything else. We need to keep Medford alive. Medford's a great city. Like I said, I've grown up here my whole life, stayed here, was educated.
[Henry Miller]: 15 seconds.
[SPEAKER_09]: And thank you. I'm a little bit nervous. I've got to be honest. But I appreciate your vote, November 7th. And thank you again. I appreciate everything.
[Henry Miller]: Thank you, Kathleen. Thank you.
[Julia Novia]: It's on now. Now it's on. Thanks, Paul.
[Paul Ruseau]: I'm trying to stay awake. My name is Paul Rousseau. I'm a candidate for school committee, as you probably have guessed. I'd like to thank the Medford Democratic City and Ward 6 committees for hosting this event. I think it's really important that everybody has a chance to see us. I think it's a little better than yard signs. I'd also most importantly like to thank you all for taking time out of your very busy weeks to come out here tonight. I live in the hillside neighborhood with my husband, Bob, whom I don't think made it. My kids probably weren't up for this. Our son, Matthew, is a student at the Andrews Middle School, and our daughter, Nev, is a student at Columbus Elementary. I'm a software engineer by profession, and I've worked at Partners Healthcare for 20 years, and yes, I do have the best commute right now in the world. I have a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Keene State College in New Hampshire and a Master of, I have the longest Master's name in the world, a Master of Science in Human Factors and Information Design, it really says that, from Bentley University. Since our first child entered school at Columbus seven years ago, my family has been very involved in the PTO. I've been volunteering every year to go on field trips, The buses are really a blast. And I've also co-led the Computer Science Club at the Columbus, which is an enrichment program after school. We've had really excellent teachers. Every single teacher has been amazing, and I feel very fortunate that we've had such a great experience. We've also had experiences in the special education system, and they have all actually been positive. So I think we have an excellent foundation for our schools to build upon. I do not believe we need to make massive changes to see some pretty incredible improvements. Sometimes small changes can have a great impact. That said, we do have some pretty substantial challenges that we have to address head on. Some of my fellow candidates have mentioned maintenance. perhaps not maintain the wonderful schools we built 15, 16 years ago as well as we should have. I think that we need to do more than deal with the daily crisis list of maintenance issues and have every single facility analyzed top to bottom. And we need to plan for what we're going to need to spend this year, what we're going to need to spend next year, three, four, five years from now even. The equipment failures that are gonna happen, and many of them are already happening, are completely predictable, and we shouldn't have to deal with them only on a crisis, in crisis mode. So I propose that we do something a little different, that we actually have a set of kind of principles on how we prioritize maintenance instead of just what's the current crisis today. So I think we should be addressing all of our maintenance issues First, by safety issues. Second, by whether or not, how they impact education, things that impact education. And then finally, and really lastly, should be cosmetics. And I know that's not always popular because we all see the cosmetics. But that's what I think. We also need to implement a computer science curriculum. Now, we have some computer science elements in our education now. We have some program classes here and there. and everything that is being done is great, but a curriculum is not what we have. A curriculum in computer science is kindergarten through 12th grade. It is sewn together in a meaningful way so that, you know, you don't just get to middle school and if you happen to be the geeks that know how to program, you take the programming classes. It's, it's, every student needs this for our Certainly colleges are expecting it and most of them are not getting it from kids out of high school. Many, many jobs expect you to know more than how to type. We need to do some access issues at the elementary schools. We don't have late buses at the elementary schools, so all that wonderful remediation that can be done through tutoring that is there is not accessible to all of the students. This is kind of a cheap thing, in my opinion. We can spend some money early on remediating kids that need help, and then... 15 seconds.
[Henry Miller]: All right.
[Paul Ruseau]: And then not spend so much money later on. I have a lot on special education that I wanted to talk about. We need to focus on the transitions of our kids around special education, getting into special education and going between the schools. Thank you.
[Henry Miller]: Thank you, Paul. I believe all the candidates have done extremely well. Why don't we give them a round of applause for their well done.
[Julia Novia]: Before we depart tonight, we just want to, um, I just want to, my co-moderator, Henry Malorin, and I just want to thank all of those who assisted us in putting this event on this year, especially representative Paul Donato and Nancy White, the co-chairs of the Medford City Democratic Ward Committee. We thank them for their continued support. We thank our television crew member, Ralph Surrett. We thank the Medford Transcript, Medford Patch, and every other media that helped advertise the event.
[Henry Miller]: And most certainly, we need to thank the members of the Medford Ward 6 Committee. Please stand up so you can be seen. And with that said, don't forget to vote. This event has been taped, recorded, and will be replayed on channel 22 for Comcast. It's been carried live and 43 for. Verizon. Next Wednesday, six days from today, we will be here again with 14 candidates running for city councilor. And I wish, I hope, you guys will turn in for them because they are representing you, not me. Okay, see, with my accent, you think I'm from another world, right? But not me. So again, a reminder, the last day to register to vote on this upcoming municipal election is next Wednesday, October the 18th. You can come here downstairs at the city clerk to register a voter to get it done. You can do it online, whichever way you do it if you want to vote. I do thank you all. OK, God bless our city. And good luck to all of you. Good night.
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