WILMINGTON, MA — Below is a Candidate Statement from Selectman candidate Kevin MacDonald:
As a candidate for the Board of Selectmen, I am running for office for one purpose: that is to do the right thing for the people of Wilmington.
I am not a politician. I am not put in place for the advancement of special interests.
I refuse to accept over budgeting for the purpose of creating a mechanism to over tax people.
I refuse to go along with cheating the tax payers to build up big bank balances to serve the special interest group and get next to nothing in interest on these balances. Banks must reinvest in our community or lose our deposits.
The word economy is defined as: “a system for creating wealth”. This system must be a healthy system that benefits everyone in the community.
Over budgeting for the purpose of overtaxing people should be a crime and is most certainly inappropriate.
Lying, cheating, and stealing money from hard working Wilmington families through over taxation cannot continue to be tolerated.
Forcing the elderly and people on fixed incomes out of their homes or into poverty through over taxation is ungodly.
The American dream has turned into the American nightmare for the tax payers in Wilmington. With your help, I plan to change this.
It is my desire to bring a focus to the need for affordable elderly housing and to actively pursue a plan to accomplish this goal.
Our town officials, for years, have failed to address this critical need in a tangible way.
A selectman needs to understand that he is a member of a board that must provide oversight. This is why people vote them in. Oversight by the board has been very weak. I believe the voters need to elect me so proper oversight is implemented. NO department shall be above scrutiny and oversight.
When I heard that 14,000 cubic yards of rich fertile farm loam (worth over $250,000) were given away for FREE at the over budgeted Yentile Farm project to a company from Billerica, I realized that once again our town officials had failed us.
Many other questionable affronts seem to be occurring far too often. Please help put an end to these by electing Kevin MacDonald on Saturday April 22, 2017. Help me to make government honest and working for the greater good of the people.
The taxpayers of Wilmington deserve to be represented by a nonbiased selectman who will watch out for their best interests, maintain the integrity in leadership, and promote the dignity of this community.
The following will detail my vision for solving Wilmington’s most challenging issues:
Veteran’s aid: I believe 100% of aid coming in for veterans must go to veterans. I do not believe that we need to hire additional staff for this department and take aid away from veterans I do not believe that this department should over budget for the purpose of over taxing to build up free cash. If some aid is being denied to veterans and is being put into free cash to build up bank balances and a bank is donating to a private so called “nonprofit organization” so its officer can stuff his or her pockets they will be sorry for this. Veterans will know that Kevin MacDonald has a tremendous depth of gratitude to them for their service. I do not believe that injured veterans should come home to find that dogs, cats, and animals are treated better in animal hospitals than veterans are in VA hospitals. A vote for MacDonald is a vote for veteran respect and support!
West Street Gas Station: I reject this horrific proposal and demand respect for the West Street area neighborhoods. A plan for traffic alleviation must be implemented. This area must be beautified not degraded.
The New Boston Street Bridge: I am opposed to Woburn dumping their traffic into Wilmington here. I propose that the bridge be a one-way bridge going out of Wilmington. In the event of an emergency the police could address a temporary change. A negotiation with Woburn may be needed. I believe cleaning up the Olin site at no cost to the Wilmington tax payers would make Woburn happy and agreeable to the one-way bridge. If Woburn does not cooperate we may need to have a visit Woburn day with 23,000 Wilmington residents and their vehicles clogging their streets. If this doesn’t work we can call for boycotting Woburn businesses and pulling deposits out of banks that finance Woburn projects and businesses.
Real Estate taxes: No more hurting Wilmington families and businesses with the engineered scam of over budgeting as a mechanism to raise taxes. I pledge to put forth a motion at Town Meeting that limits the budget to the exact expenditure. I will appoint board members who share this belief. I will strive to make our bank balances increase with smart profitable development for the Town and work to promote initiatives that aid banks in complying with the “community reinvestment act”. This will promote prosperity for the community.
Elderly housing: The Town of Wilmington has many scattered lots throughout town. The real estate market is a red hot market that can produce great revenue to the Town. I plan on proposing selling some of these scattered lots to help fund these elderly housing units. These units truly need to be affordable and must stay in the Town’s control for future generations. In order to do this in a way that is profitable, I believe the Town owned property should be sold as over 55 housing so the school system is not negatively impacted financially. I also believe in mixed use development to help with meeting our elderly housing need. Elderly housing in a mixed use area helps seniors have close proximity to places meeting some of their various needs. The Target site on Ballardvale Street would have been a great site for this. I plan to put wise people in positions who have a commitment to excellence who share a common vision to alleviate taxes and address the needs of the community in the most sensible thoughtful caring way.
Cancer: Wilmington has a high rate of Cancer. It is extremely sad watching someone you love suffer and die from this horrific disease. I believe I can rally support for a community wide effort that puts forth an effective plan to bring cancer treatments that are having success in other countries to our town. The people of Wilmington will come together for this battle which must be fought on many fronts. I will at least raise awareness and at best have a cure with the help of Almighty God. Any substance that has curative effects will be supported including cannabinoids. Concerning the Olin site, I have said that I plan to work to declare this a crime scene. I believe that if intentional dumping of chemicals into lagoons on the site occurred then we have a good chance of bringing charges of manslaughter. These chemicals have migrated into our water well fields causing them to be shut down. I believe now that the wells are shut down that water tables are rising and comingling with these carcinogens and possibly traveling to downstream communities threatening them. Make no mistake, I will fight to stop the Transrail project on the Olin site and unite the community to accomplish defeating this terrible proposal. Olin will know that the Board of Selectmen will no longer be a joke.
Heroin: You can’t legislate morality but you can work with faith based organizations to change hearts through faith. Many good people are having trouble getting off pain killers which leads to worse drugs. Concerning drug dealers, I believe law enforcement should get warrants for phone records from people who have been found to possess heroin. A phone record data base will point to the drug dealer(s). I will demand a better effort from our police to fight this plague along with a community policing initiative.
Sports and youth activities: I propose tailoring contracts with teachers that have excellent athletic backgrounds to include them in after school sports development programs including off season and summer training. I propose more open gyms and more in-town sports camps. I believe that corporate/community partnerships and faith based outreach partnerships will promote athletic excellence and foster excellence in character.
Vote this Saturday April 22, 2017 and Elect MacDonald for Selectman. Polls are open 8am to 8pm.
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