[Natalie Breen]: Hi, everyone. Hello. My name's Natalie Breen, and I am running for Medford City Council. I'm 24 years old, a lifelong Medford resident, and a very proud graduate of Medford Public Schools, having attended the Forest Park, the Andrews, the McGlynn, and Medford High class of 2010. I graduated from Suffolk University in 2013 with a degree in marketing, and I now work in commercial real estate and development. I am also an appointed member of Medford's Commission for Persons with Disabilities, making sure the city is accessible for all. And I am also a first-time candidate for public office. My brother, Patrick, is a bagger at Stop and Shop and a graduate of Medford Public Schools as well, as well as volunteering at the Lawrence Memorial Hospital. My mom, Karen Breen, has been a nurse for the Medford public school system for 20 years. And my father is on the board for the Riverside Yacht Club here in Medford, as well as a former Medford youth girls softball coach. I can assure you I would be a much better city Councilor than I was a softball player. I was very, very bad. My dad actually had to make a position for me so I could play. But that's a little bit about me. So why am I running? It's pretty simple. I love Medford. I love this city. I grew up here. I plan to stay here for a long time. I would love to raise a family here. I'm very personally invested in bringing Medford to the next level. I want Medford to be the best it can be. I'm a firm believer that you can't be what you can't see, and I think we really need a young female voice on the council to speak for people in our city. I think I can bring a lot of energy and new ideas. And I grew up surrounded by people who have dedicated their lives to public service and helping others. My uncles are firefighters, my mother's a nurse, and I just feel this is my way to contribute back to the community. And while I have no past political experience, this is actually a good thing. It means I have no notion of how things have to be done or things have to be done a certain way. I can think outside the box. I offer a fresh new perspective. What's great about Medford is we have all the resources to bring Medford to the next level. Everything's here. We just need people to roll up their sleeves and make it happen. And when I say resources, what I'm referring to is the Mystic. It's flowing through our downtown. We're not making use of that. We have access to Boston by bus, train, car. We're so close to one of the most vibrant cities. We have one of the biggest national educational institutions in Tufts right here in Medford. We could use them a lot more, create a stronger partnership with them. We have the Fells. We have countless historic buildings. We have the Chevalier Theater, which I think is going to bring a lot of energy to the square, which desperately needs it, as well as the Brooks Estates, which is a passion project of mine and I think could be a really great revenue generator for the city. So everything's here. We just really need to put it together and make it happen. But areas that are at the top of my priority list, based on what I've talked to people about walking around the city, is one, our infrastructure. I think that's the bare basic. I've heard a lot about roads, about sidewalks. I think everybody can agree. So we definitely need to start there, making sure our roads are safe and accessible for pedestrians, cyclists, vehicle traffic. in making sure we are improving and maintaining our streets on a regular and reliable schedule. It means when a contractor comes in to do work for the city, we're making sure they leave the street better than when they found it. Next, public safety, so our police officers and our firefighters. They're understaffed, which will become more of a problem as Medford continues to grow. I'm sure everyone's aware of how much development is going on and how many people will be coming into the city. They lack resources, and they're working in subpar conditions. I can say as a female, what the female officers have at the Medford Police Station is an atrocity to me, and I think it needs to be fixed now. We need to stand up for people who put their lives on the line every day for us, for sure. And we cannot cut corners when it comes to public safety. It's a must. There's no questions about that. Also community access, so making sure the city government is accessible and transparent. A lot of feedback I got when walking around the city is that people didn't know about something until it was already happening or maybe after it happened. And while we all love our Barry calls, I think we could do a lot more in terms of communicating with the residents and the constituents of the city and making sure that departments are collaborating with each other. I think there's a lot of untapped potential there if we joined forces. Also a charter review so our charter has not been reviewed in 30 years I think any document that has been around for 30 years is well worth taking a look at regardless of 20 seconds. Yep and Development so making sure we are thinking of develop development responsibly So these are some things I plan to bring to City Council and ideas that I have and I hope that on November 7th You guys come out and cast one of your seven votes for me. Thank you. I