Dear Supporters,
I write to express my sincere appreciation to the volunteers, donors and voters who made it possible for me to win re-election to the Town Council. We came in a very strong second, winning six of the 12 precincts. It was a wonderful showing – thank you.
Election campaigns are challenging endeavors that require a committed campaign committee, a dedicated team of volunteers and donors and, of course, a willing group of voters who decided to place their trust in a candidate. Fortunately I had all three!
Thank you to the members of my campaign committee who sat through many meetings creating a campaign strategy and providing on-going guidance and support. Thank you to an amazing team of volunteers and donors who distributed literature and signs, made phone calls, took a yard sign, or joined a stand out, and to the many generous donors who made it possible to purchase the campaign materials and mail the campaign literature.
A very special thank you to the voters of Watertown who took the time to vote on Nov. 3 and who decided that I deserved to be returned to the Town Council to serve another term. I look forward to working hard over the next two years to meet your expectations, engage you in dialogue and the workings of town government and serve as a voice for your interests and concerns, fairly and with compassion, on the Town Council.
I particularly want to thank the members of the many community groups, like the Concerned Citizens Group, the Social Services Resource Specialist Advisory Board, the Dog Park Task Force, Sustainable Watertown, North Beacon Neighbors, Watertown Neighborhood Advocates, Watertown Access for Treatment, Education, and Access for Substance Use Disorders, and the Watertown Public Transit Task Force, who provided support and encouragement. And to the leadership and members of the Watertown Firefighters Local 1370, thank you for your support and generosity throughout the campaign.
I would like to use this opportunity to extend my appreciation to those candidates for Town Council who ran for the first time against long-time incumbents. As a volunteer and observer of many local, state, and federal election campaigns, I have great respect for how difficult it is to run for the first time in an election where you do not have the advantage of incumbency. One can only be impressed by Patrice Georgopoulos’ strong campaign and her poise and presentation at community meetings and candidate forums. Lisa Feltner ran an incredible campaign beginning six months before Election Day highlighted by door-to-door visits on every street in District B. Bob Erickson’s campaign against the long-time incumbent councilor in District A was a model campaign utilizing the essential campaign components of voter engagement and community outreach. (One can say the same for Bob’s thoughtful thank you letter to Watertown voters of District A.) And Rossella Mercuri, who ran against a very strong, experienced incumbent in District C, demonstrated the ability to articulate her position on pressing local issues.
In addition to first-time candidates for Town Council there were first-time candidates for School Committee and Library Trustee. Our democracy is the beneficiary of the courage of these citizens who decided to become involved in the electoral process. They deserve our thanks.
Finally, thank you to all the competitors and congratulations to all those who will be joining me on the Town Council for 2016-1018.
Tony Palomba
Councilor At-Large