My Future Plans
Dear Editor,
While it seems like only yesterday that I was fortunate enough to be selected to fill a vacancy on the Winthrop School Committee, it is in fact five years since my appointment in February 2018, followed by my re-election in 2019.
I thought that I would take this opportunity to reflect on what I have experienced during that time, and my plans for the future.
Today, I am more convinced than before that we have a good school system overseen by a competent and compassionate superintendent and serviced by talented and committed teachers and staff.
But this system lacks many resources that would allow for an even better student experience.
I still have a strong interest in supporting the education of our children and grandchildren, but I believe that I can add more value to our community in another capacity.
So, I will not be seeking re-election to the School Committee this November.
Instead, it is my intention to seek election to the Town Council from Precinct Four this year.
I have decided to run for this office because I love our community and I believe, based on my experience working with the Town Manager, Town Council, and interested citizens, that we can develop strategies to resolve our town’s many challenges.
Winthrop is somewhat geographically isolated, and as a result, we are safer than our sister communities while having more ocean coast than they do.
While this makes for a wonderful place to live and play, out town has a very old infrastructure, some of it perhaps dating to before Winthrop was incorporated as a Town in 1852—more than 170 years ago.
I understand many of these problems and their ramifications because at one time I was responsible for maintaining the infrastructure of a college whose buildings were built on landfill along the Charles River in Boston.
As a result, I will prioritize maintenance requirements if I am elected, and work with the Town Manager and my fellow Town Councilors to assure that our town staff and contractors are able to serve us well.
In addition, we all know that our tax base is very limited, primarily due to our reliance on property taxes on homeowners, as we do not have a large base of businesses to tap for our needs.
So, we must continue to do more with less, as most of us want to avoid higher taxes when possible.
This means that we must work with our state government, and particularly our State Senator and Representative, to increase our funding for education and infrastructure projects, and to do those things that will protect our homes, increase our home values, and improve the lives of our families and neighbors.
In our town, we are blessed with a true community of many folks with deep family ties and a strong Winthrop identity.
Together we will make decisions that will maintain that family friendly community cohesion that makes Winthrop, Winthrop.
I would very much appreciate your support in my endeavor to serve you.
Truly yours,
Suzanne Swope