Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/tag/election-2015/page/8/)
Watertown has a hotly contested election with contested races for almost every seat. If you want to take part in the decision you must be registered to vote.
Wednesday, Oct. 14 is the last day to register so you can vote in the Nov. 3 Town Election. Residents can register at the Town Clerk’s Office on the ground floor of Town Hall, 149 Main St.
One of the most competitive races on the Watertown Town Election ballot is for School Committee, with five people competing for three seat. Watertown News reached out to the five candidates to find out why they are running, their qualifications and their opinions on some issues facing the Watertown Public Schools. To see the Q&A click on the name of each candidate (in random order):
Michael Shepard
Kendra Foley
Julie McMahon
Eileen Hsu-Balzer
Candace Miller
The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3. You can also find out more about the School Committee candidates at two upcoming candidate forums. See details by clicking here.
Candace Miller is running for a seat on the School Committee. The Watertown Election will be held on Nov. 3. 1) What inspired you to run for School Committee? Since my daughter’s first day at the Lowell Elementary in 2008, I have been active in Watertown Public Schools.
Julie McMahon is running for reelection to the School Committee. The Watertown Election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3. 1) What inspired you to run for School Committee? Originally, I made the decision to run for school committee 4 years ago.
Kendra Foley is running for a seat on the School Committee. The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3. 1) What inspired you to run for School Committee? I am running for School Committee because I value education – for my three young children, for the children and families in Watertown and for the health and vibrancy of our town.
Michael Shepard is running for reelection to the School Committee. The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3. 1) What inspired you to run for School Committee? When I first ran for school committee in 2011, I was drawn to four main issues which I felt needed to be addressed: resolving the teacher’s contract, budget concerns, appointing a new superintendent and expanding special education programming.
Editor,
I am writing to express my support for the incumbents in the School Committee race; Eileen Hsu-Balzer, Michael Shepard and Julie McMahon. Thanks to their hard work, together with the rest of the School Committee members, the Watertown school district is in a much better place than it was four short years ago. In 2011, contract negotiations between the Watertown Educators Association (WEA), the School Committee and School Administration were at an impasse and teachers had been working without a contract for two years. Teachers were working to rule, and frustration on all sides was high. After the election, two new voices joined the discussion – Ms. McMahon and Mr. Shepard – and both sides resumed negotiations.
Sustainable Watertown announced that it will be sponsoring its first series of candidate forums for Town Council Candidates on Oct. 18 and 19. The forums will focus on issues that fall within Sustainable Watertown’s mission, such as development, environmental sustainability, public space, urban design and transportation. The organization’s Steering Committee decided that one of the most important tasks that it could undertake was to give the voting public an opportunity to hear the candidates’ positions about sustainability and quality of life issues. “Many Watertown residents care deeply about the issues for which we advocate, but often they are given less attention than some of the more obvious municipal topics.