A Call to Serve

The Veteran

I remember the exact moment when I was inspired to help others through public service. At the time, I was the Program Manager for Downtown Revitalization in Ayer and one day a veteran appeared in my office at Town Hall asking for help because he was facing eviction. Others had told him there was nothing to be done, and he was desperate for help.

He finished his story and I knew in that instant I would step forward and be his champion. Was this technically my job? No. Was it the right thing to do?  Yes. I dove right in. I got informed, I went with him to the Superior Court in Lowell, and I stood up for him.

It was a transformative feeling, talking with the bank’s lawyer and laying out the specifics of this case. Ultimately, I secured extra time for this veteran to find a new place to live, and got his security deposit and first/last month’s rent returned.

I received a monumental reward that day: The lifelong gift of public service. In that one incident, I found a place where I could be a fierce and unyielding advocate for people who needed a champion. A place where I could use the power of being informed and committed to help someone who was otherwise going to be overlooked: I have never looked back.

The Senior Citizen

At my first debate for elected office in 2019, one senior citizen was lukewarm to my attempt to engage her before the debate started. Afterwards, as I packed up, I looked up to see her walking down the center aisle, beckoning to me with her finger.

When she got close enough, she poked that finger right in my shoulder and said, “You’re the one. You’re the real deal and I’m going to trust you to be everything you say you are. Don’t let me down.” 

Four years later, we still talk, and I have not let her down.  That’s because I genuinely and passionately believe in the work I do, day in and day out, to bring about fundamental change in communities.

I will bring this same style of commitment and engagement to the communities of the First Middlesex, and I would love to get to know you so that you, too, will know: “I’m the one.”

Proven, Engaging, Fierce Leadership

I don't shy away from complicated situations. When my community faces threats – of any kind – I meet them head-on. My experience has positioned me to understand the complexities of issues, large and small, and allows me to draw on a well-honed skill set to bring people together, get them engaged, and find the resolutions that are beneficial to the community. 

There is a power in this form of “politics” -- built on conversations, collaborations, commitment to goals, and good old-fashioned hard work, and that is the power I have brought to my community for years.

I. Kinder Morgan

How can a sandwich board change a life? It happened to me when I saw a hand-painted sign advertising a meeting, organized by citizens, about a proposed gas pipeline coming to town. Kinder-Morgan certainly wasn’t advertising, in fact, they had entirely bypassed the town’s officials, leaving them in the dark as to what was coming.

At that meeting, I found out that Kinder-Morgan’s pipeline wasn’t going to come through my personal property, but it was going to come through my community, through neighbors’ yards, and through conservation land. In fact, the scope of impact ran across the entire state, from Dracut to Deerfield. I could not turn my back.

I committed myself to this effort and was actively involved for two years. I lobbied at the State House for resolutions for the impacted communities. I traveled to community meetings all across the proposed pipeline path to educate others and energize a vigorous, statewide movement. I made my voice count at Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) meetings.

In the end, facing united, vigorous, statewide opposition, Kinder-Morgan withdrew its plans.

That wasn’t the only victory. This crisis proved to be an opportunity for me to meet and work with people from all types of backgrounds and interests – and help bring those people together to collaborate and achieve our goal. I saw, up close, the full power of being actively engaged and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with others to help save our communities from a common threat.

II. Toxic Dirt

It wasn’t long after the Kinder-Morgan project was shut down that Pepperell faced a new threat: Four million cubic yards of soils containing contaminants to be dumped on land located over the aquifer that provides drinking water for thousands of residents.

It sounds fantastical, but these things do happen in small towns. Large corporations think that people can’t get organized, when in fact they can: They just need strong leadership.

I did what I always do: I stepped up to lead the charge. I became informed by studying the proposals, scouring the MA DEP website for information on similar projects, and talking to regional local officials and environmental experts.

I organized an informational meeting that grew to overflow capacity, so people gathered around the outside windows to listen in. Within weeks, I was the co-leader of a movement that grew to include over 700 people.

I continue to be out front in my opposition to this project, to ensure Pepperell never loses its access to clean drinking water. Battles this size are always long, and the keys to success are to continually engage with stakeholders, and to always push forward (and push back!).

This is my style of leadership – fierce, engaged, and successful –  and this is the leadership I will bring to the First Middlesex District.