Jesse Gordon for Randolph Town Council >
Events>> RCTV debate
Prepared statements from the RCTV debate, Oct. 15, 2019
Opening Statement at RCTV debate, Oct. 15, 2019
I'm Jesse Gordon and my platform for Town Council has three planks:- more education funding;
- more access to public resources;
- more welcoming and inclusive community.
1) our schools make up half our town budget--and I want to keep it that way. The incumbent Town Council cut the school budget three times this year; I will not cut our kids' school budget! I will instead work to bring in more funding from outside sources
2) On public resources: Our town needs to communicate better with our residents. When my tap water came out brown in July, I wondered whether we can trust that our water is safe for our kids. So I called for public forums; posted its Q&A when we finally got one; and publicized our PUBLIC water quality data, so when the authorities ask us to blindly trust that our water is ok, we can "trust but verify".
3) On an inclusive community: Randolph is the #1 most diverse town in Massachusetts -- that means we will serve as the model for other diverse towns across Massachusetts. I consider the duty of our Town Council to guide Randolph through balancing the often-conflicting needs of that diverse community -- so we can live up to being the model community that we are.
See jessegordon.com for more, and I'm asking for your vote on Nov. 5th!
Closing Statement at RCTV debate, Oct. 15, 2019
I've talked about numerous policies tonight -- How do we get there? I've got three methods to pay for all of that, without raising taxes, which I call "the three G's": - Grants
- Growth
- Good Government
1) Randolph needs a full-time grant-writer. Our school administration agrees, and allocated $83,000 for a full-time school grant-writer -- but the incumbent Town Council voted it down, 5-4. I want to be the deciding vote to approve it next year, and to approve another full-time grant-writer for the town. Take a look at my article in this week's newspaper where I cite specific examples where Randolph has missed opportunities for hundreds of thousands of dollars in state and federal grants.
2) Growth of our town means more tax revenue without raising individual taxes. My principles for growth are: (count on other hand, 1, 2, 3)
- Mixed-use development
- Transit-oriented growth
- Transportation equity
3) Good Government means that the Town Council has to learn how to move forward without fighting with each other so much. It's embarrassing to watch in Town Council meetings the high level of sarcasm, ad hominem attacks, and votes made for a personal vendetta. And it gets even worse when the Town Council deals with the School Committee. Get real guys -- that's dysfunctional government.
See jessegordon.com for more, and I'm asking for your vote on Nov. 5th!
