total time: 2.77 minutes
total words: 78
[Zac Bears]: Six years ago, I ran for Medford City Council because I saw what decades of cuts to services and reactive decision-making had done to our city. Medford had become a city of no. A city that made it too hard to get the help you need at City Hall. A city that didn't have a plan for the future. A city suffering from the slow bleed of decades of budget cuts that left our streets crumbling and our schools without the resources students and teachers need to thrive. I want to live in a city of yes. A Medford where we come together to accomplish big things and build a Medford for all of us. We've already made some progress. We said yes to a citywide comprehensive plan that will encourage real and transformative growth, build more housing that working families can afford, help protect our trees, and revitalize our business districts. We said yes to funding our schools, investing in our students and educators, and hiring more DPW staff to fix our streets by passing questions 7 and 8 last year. We said yes to establishing the Medford High School Building Committee, and I'm committed to securing state funding and bringing our community together to say yes to building a new Medford High School. This is just a start, and there's so much more to do. Part of becoming a city of yes means standing strong and making it clear that Medford is not for sale. We will make developers pay their fair share and provide community benefits. We will fight for a better deal with Tufts and work even harder to hold National Grid accountable to fixing our streets and gas leaks. We will fight back against Trump's threats to force our city to discriminate against our own neighbors and unlawfully snatch parents and children off the streets. We need to keep building a Medford for all of us. A Medford where we protect all of our neighbors from federal attacks on our basic human rights and build real community safety. A Medford where no matter your ability, you can walk, bike, or roll safely on our sidewalks and across our streets. A Medford with a real plan for growth and new revenue so we never have to rely on regular overrides to provide basic services and fix our streets. What we've accomplished and what we will achieve in the years ahead is only possible because of the commitment of so many residents to work together to make Medford an even better place to live. A city of yes. A Medford that is not for sale. A Medford for all of us. If I earn your vote for my fourth term, I guarantee that I will keep leading with compassion, making principled decisions, delivering results, and working to solve big problems together. I'm Zach Baers and it's been the honor of my life to serve my hometown as your City Councilor. I ask for your support for my re-election and your vote on Tuesday, November 4th. Thank you.
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total time: 2.77 minutes total words: 78 |
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