CANDIDATE ANNOUNCEMENT: Frank West Announces Re-Election Campaign For Select Board

Dear Residents,

With enthusiasm, I am announcing my candidacy for re-election to the Wilmington Select Board where I currently serve as its Chair.

Over the past 3 years, I have offered strong, independent leadership in how I present myself and how I vote in our Select Board meetings.

A bit about myself- I am a life-long resident of Wilmington (graduate of 1980 Wilmington High School), married almost 34 years to Karen and we have 2 adult children living at home- Colleen and Frank Jr. both graduates of Wilmington High School) Karen and I own West Real Estate here in Wilmington and have assisted many buyers and sellers here in Wilmington.

Some of the hot button issues:

Taxes- while one of my opponents say they will lower taxes- sorry the town will continue to raise taxes. As a board, we have consistently voted for a tax shift that the Tax Assessor and Board of Assessors continue to recommend – having commercial/industry pay the maximum allowed. My goal is to continue to support their tax shift recommendation.

Buzzell Senior Center- I fully support the Special Town Meeting that overwhelmingly supported the preservation of the Buzzell School (former Senior Center). I believe this building can be re-used for community service. Please watch the prior Select Board meetings for the discussions with other Select Board members- one member in particular who gave the opinion that there was not enough of a representation of the town to change this person’s Select Board vote.

MBTA 3A- I voted no twice as a resident at two town meetings. Wilmington voted no twice as well. I support the residents. I think MBTA 3A is a bad idea for Wilmington. Look at the project across from Elias- that is not dense enough for MBTA 3A. Can you imagine Main St looking like that? In my opinion, Main Street should remain commercial. I highly doubt that if an MBTA 3A project went on Main Street that they would have a commercial component.
Senior (Veterans) Housing- I am all ears in this and want to hear people’s thoughts. We have the Woburn St School property and the Glen Road property becoming vacant. Are either of there properties suitable for a sustainable housing project? I want to be clear that neither building is suitable but is the property suitable.

Accessibility – I believe I have responded to every resident who has contacted me. My office phone number is on a sign at 386 Main Street and my home number 978-658-1754 is listed. I have assisted many residents on many issues over the past 3 years and, if elected, will continue to work with residents.

Seniors and Veterans- at the age of 63 – I am (with my wife Karen) a senior and a member of the Senior Center and know and work with many of our seniors. I am not a Veteran (my dad was a WW2 Veteran) but I have been a member (secretary and treasurer) of the Sons of the American Legion located at Bay St in Wilmington. I routinely volunteer at many activities at the Legion.

Senior Housing- I am all ears on this. True Deming Way style housing is a Wilmington Housing Authority issue. I would like to support a public/private partnership with affordable senior housing. With the Glen Road school and Woburn Street School properties becoming vacant- could we utilize the properties- not the current buildings- it the land for an affordable senior housing proposal? Are there other parcels that might be suitable?

Public Comments at Select Board meetings- I believe residents have the right to speak during Public Comments at our open Select Board meetings and will continue to support this. While as Chair, I have limited the Public Comments to 5 minutes and think this is a sufficient time to have their topic discussed.

To summarize, I believe thet I offer strong, Independent leadership. If you look at my record over the last three years, I vote how I feel on each issue and sometimes I am in the majority- sometimes not but,
In each case, I vote on merits of the issue at hand irrespective of how the balance of the board votes.

I hope this breakout of my views hits the hot buttons you are looking for and will give me one of your 2 votes on Election Day, April 25th. If anyone has questions, give me a call (978) 658-1754 or send me an email at westrewilm@aol.com.

Sincerely,

Frank West, Sr- Select Board Candidate for re-election