I’m writing as a Watertown resident and community leader to make a full-throated endorsement for Nicole Gardner to become our next District A Town Councilor. I encourage all progressives who live in the East End to cast their ballots for Nicole on November 2nd.
Having worked closely with Nicole on the steering committee of Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice, and the Environment, I have seen her dedication to this community firsthand. Nicole has proven herself to be an open-minded and humble collaborator, taken the initiative on projects when she saw the need, and shown strong leadership. Her creativity, energy, and critical thinking will be an asset to our entire town.
Nicole brings a rare combination of business expertise along with strong progressive values. With more than three decades as a management consultant and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion leader, Nicole will be able to safeguard our town financially, make sure our government is accountable to all residents, and also find creative new paths to make Watertown an even better place to live than it is today.
Like many communities in Greater Boston, Watertown faces some significant challenges. One of the most pressing issues is addressing climate change and environmental protection. Watertown has made tremendous progress in recent years, but there is still so much more to be done.
We need to make sure new developments meet our sustainability goals. We need to expand our precious green spaces, improve tree coverage in our neighborhoods, and take steps to protect the Charles River and protected habitats. We need leaders who can speak the values of environmentalism in the language of business and public policy.
I am confident that Nicole will meet these challenges head on and will dedicate herself to serving all District A residents. On Tuesday, November 2nd, I hope we can count on our fellow progressives who live in the East End to cast their ballot for Nicole Gardner!
Sincerely,
Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin
Russell Avenue
(NOTE: The deadline for submitting election letters is Thursday, Oct. 28. They can be submitted to watertownmanews@gmail.com)
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Russell Ave is not in the East End or District A. It’s near Common Street and in District B.
And the Anti-American cell group Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment, sponsored a learning session called ” The Abolition of Policing.”
I urge all Mainstream, Commonsense, Right-Thinking, Legal and living Voters in District A, to reject this and the rest of the Anti-American, Anti-Police, Kumbaya Commissars on the ballot.
Vote Mike Hanlon for District A Councilor.
When was the abolish the police meeting? I see one put on by Uplift Watertown, but not Watertown Citizens for Peace Justice and the Environment.
Hi Charlie,
You are correct. It is false to say that Watertown Community for Peace, Justice, and the Environment (WCPJE) had anything to do with abolition meetings. Those were put on by Uplift Watertown, which was a started by a small group of teenage girls and women and remains a fairly small group. That is the only police abolition group that I’m aware of in Watertown.
What actually occurred, is there was a group call the “Joint Police Reform Group” that’s comprised of several individuals from Watertown Community for Black Lives, 2 groups from Kingian Non-Violence, and Uplift who had separate proposals for police reform. Each group had their own proposals, and included training on diversity, equity, inclusion; a Community Advisory board or mechanism for community input; enhanced data collection; and transparency and accountability to address the conclusion in the PD’s annual analysis of field contacts that Black and Hispanic/Latinx residents are over-represented in its data for arrests and citations.
The Uplift group of about 2-3 people suggested reallocation of money from police to social services for mental health and substance abuse support. This was their proposal and we supported them in stating their position but that wasn’t what our joint group was focused on. The Joint Police Reform Group presented all of their proposals to WCPJE during an annual meeting.
Thank you for raising this important discrepancy.