Elect Alan J. Reiss 7-April-09
Please vote at either the Middle School or Town Hall
And Please vote for Change
Vote for Alan Reiss !!!
I have been a resident of Wayland for over 20 years. I am a former High School Science and Math teacher and I am a Chief Engineer in the field of microelectronic automatic testing.
In 2005 I was elected as a member of the Wayland Board of Selectmen and I served diligently for 3 years, contributing over 1,000 hours of volunteer service with a 99% attendance record. I took that job very seriously.
I decided to first run for Selectman because I saw town expenses outpacing the ability for many residents to adequately pay for them. I saw override requests that were singular and did not prioritize among town functions, and lumped public safety in with everything else. If you wanted your ambulance then you needed to pay for the whole override. That’s a form of extortion and that’s not acceptable to me. I wanted to lend a new voice to a Board of Selectmen because that operated as a single voice, a single mind, and rarely broke ranks, especially when it came to taxing and spending. I was the 5th wheel, the lone voice and Wayland needs more voices like mine to fairly represent all the people.
The powers that be said, “there is no fat to cut.” I didn’t believe that. If you give government more of your money, government will find a way to spend it. Conversely, if you reduce the funds, then government will find ways to be economical.
I also saw attitudes that disturbed me. Those attitudes said, choose between saving our services or having Wayland be a more affordable town to all. If one didn’t subscribe to the service-saving mentality then one might be marginalized and made to feel not worthy.
Because I did not subscribe to that mindset, I was narrowly defeated in the April 2008 town election. The forces that successfully drove the passage of 5 overrides over the past 7 years are very strong.
Voting is your right and your duty
Please Use Your Vote on April 7, 2009.
Please give me your vote.
In April 2008 there were 8,778 eligible voters and 5,505 voters participated. This is 63%. The margin of victory for Selectman was 214 votes or 2.4% of the eligible voters. The margin of victory for the override was 461 or 5.3%. The margins are slim. Your vote counts.
“I want to run for Selectman now because I want to continue and complete the work that I started in 2005. Give me the opportunity to work for you”.
In the past year I have continued to work for Wayland by filming government meetings, participating on the committee to improve the town’s website, and helping to fix our assessment system.
The things that I stand for are more important to Wayland citizens then ever before. The local and world economy is collapsing, jobs are vaporizing, the foreseeable economic future is grim. Responsible spending, more voter choices, smaller and more transparent government, are what we need.
Please vote to Elect Former Selectman
Alan J. Reiss. Thank you.
achievements and principles
It's a very simple principle. It means that Wayland's town government must care about ALL of its people. That caring translates into actions which are substantive:
. Making tough budgeting decisions across ALL town departments;
. Bargaining hard with our unions during these crisis years;
. Asking our labor unions to take pay freezes or cuts just like so many of us.
. NOT expecting our citizens to continue to endure excessive override tax increases like the 5 they've recommended in the past 7 years.
Many Wayland citizens are in serious financial trouble. Our elected officials cannot just say that they are 'sensitive' to the ever increasing tax burden. Town officials must act affirmatively to find alternatives, even at the expense of some services. But they must also protect and preserve public safety. Public safety is job one. Life and death services must not be politicised through override extortion - a common practice in Wayland.
Endorsed by Wayland Town Crier April 2008
In the Wayland Selectman’s race of April 2008, the Wayland Town Crier said: “We feel a vote for Alan Reiss is critical”...“we need Reiss to stay in office to keep a sharp eye on the bottom line.”
A lone Voice of Fiscal Reason
Five identical views is unhealthy. Reiss was outnumbered 4 to 1 and stuck to his guns. Reiss was a lone voice of fiscal reason and diverse opinion on the Board of Selectmen.
Cares About Assessment Quality
Through long hours of assessor meeting filming and attendance. Reiss worked with town citizens to put mechanisms in place to ultimately improve the quality of our assessment system. Finally, an April 2009 Town Meeting article will ask for funding of a Full List and Measure to help clean up the real estate Assessors’ data base and set the stage for more equal property taxes.
Alan Always Puts Public Safety First
As an advocate for more voter democracy via menu overrides, Selectman Reiss, alone advocated that pubic safety not be lumped in with the full override; not be used as a tactic to extort your vote to raise your taxes. This is a tactic which will continue to be used unless stopped by the voters.
An Advocate for Transparent Government
Through usages of technology, Reiss developed the Wayland Real Estate Tax Calculator, volunteered for WayCAM digital filming of governmental meetings, and convinced the Board of Assessors to publish precise statistics on Median and Average tax increases. There is still more to do.
What we need is
“Wayland to Wayland”
Each and every one of us might find ourselves in a survival predicament before this recession is over. But it is also my belief that the vast majority of Waylanders are charitable and do understand how and when to make sacrifices. Wayland was a good neighbor to Waveland. Now Wayland needs be a good neighbor to its own..
Please Vote April 7th
to Elect
Alan J. Reiss
to the Wayland Board
of Selectmen
What Wayland has lost and what Wayland needs now is... The Selectman of Change
o with an independent voice and diverse opinions
o who believes in spending responsibly
o who puts Public Safety first and foremost
o who empowers voters to have, and make Choices
o who works hard for transparency
o who wants a level playing field on assessments
Email: Alan@AJReiss.com
Click any of the links above