Rob Welsh loves Norton

I have kept my campaign very low key since who needs the noise? There is not much of a race unless a bunch of folks think it’s fun to write in Bill Marr again. But I am to understand that help is sorely needed on the planning board so there I am on the ballot. Please vote for me.

I dont have a vision or plan. My platform is that I will go in and learn while helping as much as I can.

I have submitted enough signatures (more than enough, thanks for the help) and will be on the ballot. There are quite a few folks also seeking to arrange a time for me to get them. I wish to thank all of you, your willingness means a lot to me even if it was not necessary…this time. What I would ask for instead is your vote.

As has been said, I dont have a platform, any great plans, nor even a base of background knowledge. (I’m a tech guy and a musician) Nor am I particularly earger to take on work. My reason for running is because the town needs the help in that area, it has been a problematic gap they have struggled with. It hurts us all if they can’t get enough people. My intention going in is to be of help as much as I can, while I educate myself.

Again, my thanks to everyone that signed, and especially to those that helped me gather signatures.

I have pulled papers and am collecting signatures for a seat on the planning board. I dont have a platform or really anything I can promise at this point. My intention is to just be of help while I educate myself. I only have this week to collect signatures and will be working on that. I am happy to come meet anyone that wants to pm me their address.

Below is my endorsement for Michael Toole to be re-elected to the Norton SB.

Jenny having Dawn, Largo, and I over for an Easter dinner.

There has not been much noise online about my Town Moderator campaign as I preferred to do that outside of social media. As we reach the deadline that decides whether I would be listed on the ballot I am going to opt not to be, and ask that those who support the position I was running on to support Paul Schleicher for that reason.

I want to start by thanking those that gathered signatures for me. Your help and support is very much appreciated. I also want to thank everyone that met with me personally to sign.

I also want to thank all on NN that voiced their desire to sign, it was simple logistics that kept us from getting to everyone and we had enough sigs without having to go into our little online community here. But still your willingness was very noted and appreciated.

I was running on a specific issue as seen in my posts. I think the moderator should simply be a service provided to the town and not a seat of power. In my first posts and on my campaign page I speak more widely to that. What I could do, and what I could not do but welcomed others to step up. That topic continues.

I find myself running against two other candidates. Both have responded to my position I was running on with how they were going to address it. One posted a vision that was a description of what the status quo is, but done very eloquently I do have to admit. The other voiced their own objection to this seat power thing and cited examples of where head scratching choices were made with explanation refused. They outlined a good plan for how they would address it that I noted was accurate and realistic about what they could and could not do. It was very up front on both, this had clearly been thought out which gave it credibility to me. Since this race is between three guys that can handle the actual moderating task about equally, it is this IMHO issue that defines the difference between candidates. So we have a three way race, two for fixing this issue and one for keeping it as is. That’s no good. So since Paul Schleicher has the same ideas as I do and will pursue the same agenda, I am withdrawing myself and am asking those that have been or would have supported me on this to vote for Paul. He wants the same things we do.

Thanks again everyone, really.

I would like to announce that I have pulled papers and will be running for the open moderator's seat.

Most of you do know me from my several years administrating a local town Facebook group, and also from running for select board last fall. You are aware of my positions, opinions, etc. None of that matters because the job of a moderator is to leave that at the door and facilitate the fair discourse between others.

In my professional life I have run many meetings of all sizes and managed rooms as needed throughout my career developing the skills and experience. I am up to the task of moderating the designated meetings.

My position that I will be running on is that a moderator should simply be a moderator. I do not think the moderator seat should be a seat of power. It should have no authority beyond those meetings. If I were to win this seat I would also then hold the power to name members of FinCom. I would have the ability to name anyone I want. Be it a seasoned finance guy, or my friend’s wife, or any other person I want. Its my call. And I wouldn’t have to explain it either.

I should not have this power. No one person should. My own desire would be to arrange for the that to be handled by others (a group, not one person) and to have total separation. Due to the charter that would be difficult. But what I can do is define a better selection process. I could still arrange for it to be something handled by a group, and I can make transparency a requirement. Its totally fair have to report on that.

It is this position that will define me as separate from the others. Moderating large meetings is something I can do no problem, but so can my opponents. We are all sort of a push in that respect. But my reason for running is to bring about this change. The moderating doesn’t thrill me but I can certainly deliver that for three years in exchange for addressing what is very much an improvement Norton needs.

This point right here should define your vote. If you want to see that change come about then I am your guy that will do whatever I am able to divest myself of that individual power. If you like the current system then you absolutely want to vote against me, because if I get in I will be seeking to change it. As I said before, the skills to manage the meetings are possessed by all the candidates. And also none of our personalities or positions should matter. If they do then the job is not being done right. So really it’s this change yes/no that should determine it for you.

I want to thank everyone that gave their support. My first foray into politics was quite an experience. I have never had people stand up for me before, I have always just gone through life as just me. It was very touching and heartwarming. THANK YOU!!!

One more for the road. Steve and I will be doing another meet & greet AMA session. The last two were in the evening so this one will be for a morning coffee just to pick up the folks where that is better. We will be at Honeydew from 7-9am this thursday the 28th.

Dear Norton community.

My name is Rob Welsh and I am running for your select board. Here is some info about me.

I have been known for some time as a noisy social media voice. It is because I recognize how lame that is just by itself that I am stepping up to serve in a stronger manner. Note that my campaign has not been just behind a keyboard or in protected situations, I am one to really speak to folks and leverage the opportunity to listen.

I have absolutely no background in town government, I have no connections within the current system or any of that stuff. But also, I don’t owe anyone anything either and that is often a good thing.

My background is all in the private sector where I worked for a Canadian based Fortune 500 company of 25K employees and was global in scope. For this company I managed teams on multiple continents that were all performing multiple projects. This has me very experienced at handling complex budget structures. My career has been based heavily on my strong analytical and negotiating skills.

I do have concerns for the town. Initially I see some budget challenges catching up that may require some hard decisions. A tough fact is that when costs go up either something has to go or more has to be paid. I don’t have the answers right here and now, I only can present the discussions that need to happen.

I would like to see Norton revisit the Charter vote, and did vote for it before. But I understand and agree with the reasoning of those that voted against it. I heard very few people saying that it was not a step Norton needed to take, I heard almost universally that they did not feel enough trust in the town government to hand them that kind of power. So that’s what we need to address.

This trust is a big issue. It’s a perception problem that is hurting the town. I think two keys to trust are transparency and accountability. They are not easy and can be rocky at times, but pay off better in the long run than just trying to control and restrict what folks know. I wish to influence the town to embrace the community in this manner so the community can embrace back. Both will find that the other is not as bad as they thought. Its understood that it will be rocky at times, but it’s for the best.

This link goes to my page where you will find this and other posts that speak to my positions. And also you will find under them the questions asked about them and my answers. If you have any questions not answered already please feel free to add them.
https://www.facebook.com/Rob-Welsh-loves-Norton-109607571668820/

Rob Welsh loves Norton It's as stated, I love the town I live in and have always tried to find ways to be of help or benefit to the community. This is just more of that.

Jack Conway asked me to answer the questions from the interview. Fortunstely they were not hard ones.

The link below leads to the PDF that I typed my answers in.

I had an advantage I agree that I knew the questions a good 30 minutes before answering them so in that respect it was a little easier. But really thats it. I saw the comments on their ‘courage’ but I find that laughable. These guys are in a completely controlled environment with just freinds and family and no one that would challenge them like happens in the events they avoided. I have a decades long career of performing song and dance routines in controlled environments be it on tv, on video, in front of live audiences sometimes in the thousands, and honestly its not a big deal when you can control everything around you. So forgive me if Im not so impressed.

SB is not a controlled environment. A person that wants to do that job cant just hide behind others, they have to come out and be able to handle whatever comes. The other two canidates not at the debate were out doing it in real life, and just handling what comes. The real leaders are the guys that have the courage to actually face whatever real people come along in real life, and to be able to deal with operating that way.

https://1drv.ms/b/s!AodMF1wQTYvVg4tTGXsupbcc8sl5sw

OneDrive

There will be another meet and greet tonight (4/20) from 6-8 at Jasmine Garden. This is the same occasion that Steve Hornsby has posted as an event on NN.

We feel that meeting people in person is more important than yapping on social media or just doing it from home. People should be able to look us in the eye and expect us to look back. And we feel the effort to go out in person speaks more to our resolve and commitment. (Others are welcome to disagree, this is just our own idea of how to campaign)

I will be available to answer any and all questions about the town, my positions, etc, and to a fair degree questions about me personally. We are doing this in a free open forum by design, we feel we will get tougher questions if we dont have any friendly moderators protecting us. And we actually do welcome the tougher questions (See my post on accountability) even if that sometimes forces us to just say we don’t know.

We are trying to hold these on different dates/times so that folks that want to ask questions can get a chance to do so. And of course questions can also be posed at any time to either of us on our respective campaign pages. (This one is mine and Steve can be reached at Vote Hornsby)

I have been asked about my background.

As mentioned on my intitial statement I have absolutely zero background in politics, or any government office. I am not plugged into any political circles here in Norton at all. I have no inner connections. I am behind all of my opponents in that area.

My own background is in in the private sector providing IT management to global fortune 500 companies. As such I do have a lot of experience mananging large and complex budget structures, negotiating contracts, and other such activities. I am quite experienced at all aspects of the business side of this service, I just dont have the experience at applying it in a town government situation, and Im not arrogant enough to just assume its all the same, so I want to be up front about that.

I have a lot of background managing teams and while that is not what a select board member does, I do have good knowledge of team dynamics and how to get maximum return by fostering good working dynamics within them. Mt previous post on accountability is actually part of that. Teams of people being accountable to each other in a professional manner actually do run more smoothly and produce better results in a more cheerful environment. (Funny how that works) such teams do better things. I do percieve that we do already have some folks in our town leadership that think that way, but I also percieve we need more.

I have a history of honesty and willingness to do the right thing, not just the expedient thing. I have a history of letting truths being known, regardless as to whether that is convenient. There are those that will say that shows a lack of understanding of how the world works, or that I’m just naive to think that will work. So now Im 63 and waiting for that approach to not work.

For most in Norton my professional career is not known. All they have seen is the energy I put into NN in order to make it something that serves the town. A facebook group of course is just a facebook group, but I do feel that the constant energy I have put into NN to make it a valuable resource fir the community has paid off with all of the service to the community it has delivered. This level of energy is standard for me and is a strong asset to be brought to the Select Board.

My degree is in music and putting aside the jokes of this being a song and dance role….oh what the heck? Have fun with the jokes. But understand they are just jokes. i myself am for real and my success in the music field is not by being the best player so much as it is from my business and working practices and my ability to collabrate smoothly with others. To this day I thank my father for instilling those in me back when I was just a punk with a guitar.

I am not the traditional candidate, I freely admit that. But thats good, because Norton needs more than just another traditional candidate.

Signs signs everywhere’s a sign…

I will have more available at the meet and greet at Albertos tonight. Or people can PM me and someone will be by (I try to do them in person but have had to borrow folks during schedule crunches) with it. Or they can be picked up at Bella music for the asking.

I have been extremely critical of specific actions by the town. I still stand by that and shame on anyone that was involved in those actions. But the truth is I dont know specifically which ones are complicit and which ones aren’t. That is why my comments are always general like that. Its easy to know out here on FB who is part of the problem we dont need, but as far as the people behind the curtain I just dont know which it is and I certainly understand its not all of them. I even imagine we have some who are happy to hear me speak of transparency and accountability and hoping I survive the beatings that will be involved in trying to heighten those things in a culture that does not like them. That is why my posts have always referred to ‘the town’ and never called out a specific individual. The town leaders, candidates, and cronies that take an ask for accountability as a personal attack on anyone are simply underscoring my point. If you want to know who those folks are just go read NN and Im told Invest is very revealing as well.

A professional does not mind accountability, even welcomes it.

But Im not without any knowledge at all, I do know enough to speak about some of individuals involved.

I know for fact that Michael Toole has NOT been part of the problem. He has worked hard to be part of the solution and in fact absorbed a lot of tough things in the course of taking the stand he did against the Pesa case. And stood strong through it all. Thats leadership we need.

I know for fact that John Thomas so far has appeared to be a home run for this town. He appears to be a transforming influence. After the story broke on the Pesa case there was a group that started doing watch parties on their meetings (and other boards) then having a discussion on what we think we saw. It was not just me, everyone in that group felt they saw a change with his arrival. And also that was not about the Pesa case, we watched him handle numerous situations in a reasonable manner that did become firm when it needed to be, but otherwise it was all just calm and reasonable. That was a change Norton needed and I look forward to the Concom we will see going forward being what we have seen since his arrival.

I think both of these individuals should be embraced as solutions to Nortons past and I would look forward to that.

Note, I have observed both of them facing accountability before (having their actions questioned) and neither appeared to mind that one bit. They both approach it in a thoughtful manner and gave straight honest responses. Thats an example of professionalism.

Accountability

God I hate accountability. It would be so much easier if I could just do whatever and never get questioned. I think everybody feels this way, and weaker people will succumb to it. But the truth is that accountability is a good thing. Sure its unpleasant, but its how you get better.

I have worked in the private sector for decades and accountability was just part of our world and we all embraced it. We certainly related in a professional and even pleasant manner, but we always held each other accountable at the same time. One thing that helped was that in a culture of accountability you don’t have folks bristling at it or crying foul over simply having their actions questioned. In that culture you simply took it thoughtfully and gave it fair consideration. Sometimes finding improvement opportunities for yourself so really someone has done you a favor, even if you did not like hearing it.

Any team or organization with a culture of treating accountability as a bad thing and taking a position that it should not be done is going to perform poorly and never move forward. Its just how things work.

As we see a court case get settled (the documentation is available online) and the town finally owning up to a wrong they had been perpetuating for some time in return for some silence from those they committed it against I want to point out what in this is among the reasons I am running.

The reason the Pesa case was allowed to fester as long as it did was at its core the reluctance of our town government to hold each other accountable. That right there is your root cause people. Mistakes happen sure, but for them to fester like this takes real effort. I have noticed as I attend meetings there is often a ‘reminder’ about what members of the town say about each other. I noticed that when the Pesa case first gained community awareness the objects from the town were not that much about trying to defend persecuting a local business with false charges, they were simply upset the community knew about it. There is a history of posts (before they decided to remove transparency and lock down silent instead) these arguments also came loudly from one of our current Select Board candidates who said he supported that action and was constantly bullying anyone who questioned it. He himself argued that our town officials should not be questioned or held accountable. So if you want more of the same like this Pesa case matter than that is who you should vote for. If you want that type of behavior and culture to change, vote for the other two candidates. This is one of the areas where the respective positions are so well documented on our local town pages that it is no longer arguable.

Our town officials should behave like professionals I agree, and if elected I would indeed do that just as I have for decades now. But note that holding each other accountable is part of professional behavior, not an affront to it. This understanding does not currently appear to be evident in our town leadership so I would call such a culture change an improvement opportunity. True professionals want to get better so they accept that not just willingly, but even eagerly. To get this changed in our town culture is a change Norton seriously needs.

We have signs now. Much thanks to those that helped make this happen.

I have a hundred to get put up so Im looking to get them into yards of folks willing to display one for me. Bonus points for anyone that lives on a main road. PM me if you are willing, please dont put addresses on the public section of the page.

I was asked if my usage of a picture from the res meant I was a proponent of the res and would protect the natural beauty that can be found there.

That answer is an unequivocal “yes”. My own posting history regarding the res shows how much I do enjoy its natural beauty (in season my wife and I are on it almost every day for two miles minimum). And yes, I will do all I can to protect it. Its a hidden jewel that needs to be preserved. And its OUR hidden jewel.

Example: In a recent town meeting myself and several others all contributed to preventing a zoning change that would have resulted in a densely populated development being plased on the southern part of the shore. Since this happens to be one of the more beautiful stretches of shoreline of course we dont want to see it disturbed. Aside from the overriding concern that this was bad for the res, there were also several more specific concerns with this project that also made it of questionable benefit to the town.

My own concern I was focused on was the usage of Village commercial as they were trying to apply it. I felt this was a dangerous precedent to allow be set. The reason they needed village commercial for a residential project was because our lot size regs for residential areas did not allow them to cram as many homes in there as they could with VC to maximize their profits. i felt this was not a good use of VC and also that allowing the precedent would open the door to it getting used that way in the future.

Village commercial is something intended for town/village centers where shops directly abut each other and everything is close together to allow for pedestrian shopping etc. My concern was that they were instead using it only for its smaller lot size allowances which I did not feel was in any way the intention of the law there. I also was concerned that the proposed boat ramp was not in the best interests of the res, I feel that facilitating folks coming from everywhere to come launch boats on the res not good for it.

I was thankful to Kevin O’Neil (who does not support my campaign so thats not part of this) for picking up on my point and emphasising it as well as he did. I felt he did a more effective job of reaching folks with it than I did (although I believed in my presentation, as I read the room I felt I had not presented that well and come up flat) so great help there.

To keep this in perspective, that was just one of several things that influenced it and here is a list of folks that had greater impact.

Greg Vincent also made a very compelling argument regarding the impact of the sewer line. Frankly I thought that was the most compelling argument of all because it spoke not so much to the res but more to a rather severe negative impact to residents living there.

Cheryl (a very nice lady whose last name I failed to catch) represented several key points, traffic issues were also a question she added.

And the best speech of the night came from Julian Kadish. He touched upon several topics the rest of us raised and then some. IMHO it was clear from his concerns he pointed out this would have had a tough time passing Conservation if it ever got presented.

All and all it was a nice night of townsfolk coming together to stand up for whats best for Norton. Good times.

And of course I do applaud the PB for their clear vision on the matter. The decision they rendered could very well have been what they would have decided anyhow because they clearly had a handle on it all too. Either way, they too did their bit for the town.

Of course, that did also turn away development in Norton. My own feeling was that this was development Norton does not need, but thats subjective I get that, and if anyone feels that phshing away something like that is doing Norton a disservice I am open to hearing that feedback and will consider it.

In my own opinion, part of being a good select person is that you have to be open to taking criticism and be willing to embrace that and give everything fair consideration. I think folks have been seeing me do that every day (I call taking a beatdown on social media “tuesday”) and as a select person I would be different in that I will be allowing that both from the community AND other members of town government. Its just a part of the job so it needs to be better accepted.

Last nights joint Fincom and Select board meeting revealed daunting challenges to the budgeting. While I have thoughts based on stuff .i have been told, I cannot say I have any clear answer to the challenges being described last night. This is one of those areas I need to become better educated.

Noise on Norton Neighbors

With my strong vested interest in the health of that group Im hating this more than anyone.

At the time both candidates declined that should have been the end of it. Every post since then has been needless horse beating noise. After we tried hooking up for a joint statement, we had hoped that would end it. But nope.

The Led Zeppelin post was our way of saying peace out and then we both took the weekend off. That its still been nonstop noise even with two candidates staying silent has been totaly frustrating, but we cant do much about it I guess.

What I do ask though is that no one engage in this as any form of supporting me. I neither need or want support in that manner. Frankly what I have been watching go by has me feeling like I would rather just lose if thats what one has to do to win.

Tired of social media noise? Just come have a beer with us.

Steve Hornsby and I will both be at Albertos this Friday night 4/15 from 6-8 for a meet and greet. We will be available for any questions. No moderator or anything, this will be completely unfiltered. Just folks talking.

All 5 (or more if there are more by the time the post drops) candidates are welcome to come, (didn’t I just read that their schedule became free?). They can ask me questions too, or just meet people, shake hands, and get their own word out to the attendees. There are no rules, this is all very casual.

We do encourage any and all that have wanted to meet the candidates face to face to come on down. Those that like eye contact we got you.

And now a social media challenge - if $2000 gets donated to NEED between the time this post drops, and the start of the meet and greet Steve and I will halt any and all political posting for the Easter weekend.

So all you folks that have been looking for a way to shut me up, click the link below and be generous. Ill shut up for the Norton Teachers.

Note that the Norton teachers did not ask any candidates to shut up for money nor knew ahead of time that a couple of the candidates going to offer that. Their role in this is as nothing more than a charity receiving donations from folks like they always do. They are doing no tracking of what donation is from what either, this just lands in their genral bucket.

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.paypal.com%2Fdonate%2F%3Fcmd%3D_s-xclick%26fbclid%3DIwAR17-FU7geK7i24elqO1ADcmzgU7Hwy6Gop9dFtRyA8Z92LTumRQMFYKFyM%26hosted_button_id%3D897HXQTNNMJK6&h=AT1Hfkpgyu6kM0h96UuOwLmf6PVMGcepFl2r6-2gr9mQOteKQdmJ3Mo8if6YjV5j2RpcpoWoA6EbOAeBV6ykKn_8rzr-XmVBeYJIH3pNAFK-wTAP9cIRNwNx6PYLLUQjBK9uC2jw429MYIeOzKM_&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1hhT68CU6FRvQ85yanwFXi2-pSUrwKfyrsNuIfZu2jcyZPXllozwTBjwZ1j7DqchooSvaODKbg4jk-8Vlu3eVVBt7Yd3d2LUpePvZCsfwD33IG7tHniiha_EniseEp3JNAAxsGxOkQPLBIQeZTkFSNmTYU1CJQ04I

Why thank you!

Joint Statement
Vote Hornsby

While we fully understand how traditional election protocol requires we write another response so the circular word war can continue on, the two candidates that are focused on serving Norton’s needs believe that on a lovely Friday afternoon Norton’s needs are better served by cranking up some old Zeppelin. Have a good weekend everyone! ✌️

https://youtu.be/u43IgCg_yWw

Led Zeppelin - How Many More Times (Live at The Royal Albert Hall 1970) [Official Video] Led Zeppelin perform 'How Many More Times' in front of a sold out crowd, live at Royal Albert Hall in 1970. ► Listen to Mothership https://lnk.to/StreamMothe...

I was asked to post something that stated my position. For now I am still meeting and talking with folks, reach out if you want to be one. This has my campaign happening more in real life than on social media. I realize that costs me visibility but the gain in listening opportunities have been worth it. But I stand corrected here, the complaints I was being remiss I think were fair so I am embracing them. The info dump I am doing here is because I agree I should still have something for the public to look at and apologize that I did not do this sooner. But still feel free to talk to me directly. I do listen, I reserve the right to make up my own mind and have a history of being blunt and honest in a way that is a two edged sword, but you will get listened to.

For those that want less reading I am going to give some bulleted items. For those that want more reading I will elaborate on some of the issues that I think folks are going to drill into. As well as thoughts and feelings that led me to this.

• Need to bring more business into Norton. A no brainer I know, but the fact is this continues to not happen. Its not like it’s a new one either. Something I take note of is that towns adjacent to us seem to be able to do things we don’t. The why of that I am sure is a long debate, but the fact of it to me is the elephant in the room. My immediate take is we do need to be more welcoming and willing to work with folks to make things possible. That is not to say give away and or allow everything just to get someone to come here, but we do seem to be obstacle heavy.

• Concerned that most (not all) growth seems to be cramming more houses into every corner they can find. Sometimes I think the only thing the outside world sees when they look at Norton is available land for housing projects.

• Concerned that current town government is not always acting on Norton best interests. I don’t know where to point fingers and its absolutely not everyone there, it’s just that I see actions being taken that I actually don’t know which are pushing and which are not, and which are even pushing against but getting voted down. I don’t know those answers, just the action coming out at the end. Watching the town dig in when it was clear the residents did not want them to proceed resonated with me in a very big way. The statements by town government members and their circle of friends that they applauded and stood by such actions just made it that much more concerning.

• Concerned about the entire attitude about power. Of course a given town office has some authority over certain things, but I have felt I have seen weight being thrown around in ways I felt unacceptable and the ‘because we can’ type arguments being posted by town office holders and their circle of friends made me that much more concerned. It was an alarming list of folks revealing to me via where they put their focus that they had no understanding that the Select Board seat is supposed to be about SERVICE, not power.

• Concerned that there is too much reliance on secrecy. I get it that it can’t be zero but I think there is room to open up here. The community does too have a right to know.

• I have seen silencing actions and attempts at silencing actions both by the town government and/or their circle of friends. The message I have felt is “you are to shut up and sit down, its none of your business what we decide”. Others can disagree but that’s how I felt. I do not believe this is an acceptable message.

• Concerned that there were too many times I saw the townsfolk and the circle of friends stand firm on a belief that the community had no right to even question them. I do not support such an attitude in our town government.

• It has been raised to me that since I never participated in the word war on the charter no one could see where I stood on it. That is correct that I decided to stay out of that fray, having to keep in civil was enough work. But if folks are researching like that and coming up empty I can give the transparency instead - I did vote in favor of it. But this was not a fast easy decision for me. Because of my concerns over how our town government operated as outlined above, it had me feeling somewhat leery of handing them any more power. I also think this exact thought process was not unique to me, a lot of folks felt that way, even most arguments against were along those lines. Stronger than me even because there were enough it tipped things the other way and it was voted out. I think the key to getting it voted in is to address the questions of confidence I outline above first so that then you have your community willing to place that trust you can then get a vote to what I think is a much more progressive structure.

• The select Board seat is a position of service. It is even more clear than before that there are others that do not grasp the concept of service and only see things in terms of power. Where people choose to put their focus is more revealing than all their protests otherwise. I’ll leave each of you to decide who’s who, but that is certainly a good indicator to look at. I think anyone running with a focus on power would be a mistake for this town. So I am here to listen and serve.

The rest is for those that have not had too much of me yet, or are just tough.

It would be true that the first seeds of the thought to run got planted during the Bella wars (for want of a better name. There was a group of people who felt the town should not be questioned for this. They raged at me for not removing comments doing this, they used the word ‘disparagement’ like a weapon even applying it to official documents of fact and record that did not fit their story as a justification to demand they be removed from the internet. All the while they themselves disparaging not just me but really a number of community members. On one hand its Facebook so? But on the other hand I did feel I was seeing a mentality in our town leaders and their friends that was not good for this town. The actual seeds came because at a time I was shaking my head at what I was seeing one of the defenses of the action was “if you think you can do better then why don’t you run”. It was said a lot so it stuck with me. So yes, I do think I can do better than what I was seeing, so the offer is accepted, and here I am.

I saw the Bella matter as a symptom more than the main problem. It reveals a mentality our people in town government have about the topic of ‘power’. I felt I saw it abused and in the course of that I heard the ‘because we can’ justification more than a few times that troubled me a lot. In this case I felt the main motive was a simple unwillingness to admit to being wrong all these years and as years went by some folks just kept doubling down spending the money to keep dragging things out, and adding to the level of wrong they did not want to own up to. Also that there were those actually saying they not just supported, but even applauded the town for throwing their weight around like that, which sickened me more than a little.

Coupled with that has been my long term frustration that this town just cant seem to get much business into here, and I have always wondered why. When I watch situation like that I start thinking I’m looking at the reason, or a decent part of it. And that’s when I started looking at the Pesa matter not just as something damaging to the Pesa’s. It was damaging to everyone in Norton. Like me for instance, so of course this mattered. (who would not feel that way?)

These were all seeds of thoughts I pondered for a while, and then when the announcement came out for folks to run I had a few folks give me the speech and a little ways into it I decided I should do this.

I do want to see us getting our focus more on attracting and embracing business moving into Norton. Right now it seems the only new things, or most of them, are just to let developers cram houses into every nook and cranny they could find. I think we are perceived from the outside as nothing more than a bunch of land that could be exploited that way, and not as a place to locate and operate a business. That does need to be looked at.

I am honest to a fault, feel free to verify that, those who know me in real life will attest to that. The gotcha crowd that likes to trip me up in public does uncover the occasional mistake, but if that’s the best they can do I think that shows I’m for real.

I am a creative problem solver. I have made a name for myself with this everywhere I go and in my professional life I blatantly use it as a marketing point and a service I sell. I think you have seen this trait demonstrated in public before or if you talk to folks that know me more personally I think they will attest to it as well.

I stand by our first responders. They are an often underappreciated group of people delivering an often underappreciated service under circumstances more difficult than any of us can appreciate. Not sure what it has to do with campaigning, I just blurt it out a lot.

Something that will set me apart in a huge way from the attitude many of us have perceived is that I don’t want my rings kissed, I even get creeped out if someone coddles me like that. If I’m doing something I should (and will) be prepared to take being questioned and have to speak to it. In public too, the trend toward secrecy has been troubling to me. The public does too have a right to know, I think its ridiculous for anyone to think otherwise. As luck would have it, I have had occasional cause to have demonstrated my willingness to allow questions and criticism and to listen however challenging that can sometimes be.

My only motive is to benefit the town where I make my life. I am very grateful the fact I have already found a way (IMHO making NN flourish as it does helps the town) I believe does provide service to Norton and that will continue. But if there is a separate and additional way within my abilities I am happy to do it. At the same time, if someone else can do it better I WANT that person voted for over me. This is not about ego, its about what's good for the town. I live here so a better person going in instead of me is still a win for me. Doing right by this town is a higher priority to me than winning this race.

Now the bad. This is not my skillset. All my opponents have experience working with and/or connections in our town government. They know how to operate in it. I do not. I have absolutely zero experience with any role anywhere in any town leadership ever. All my opponents are ahead of me here. In some sense one might think that’s a plus, but it should be considered that this may mean I’m missing certain skills and abilities that a more plugged in person would be able to bring to bear. Chops are important so I want that on the table that mine would be a work in progress. I’m not slick or clever, that’s actually why I prefer just running with the truth being known good or bad because otherwise things get complicated beyond my abilities. I figure that if the truth did not work for me to get elected, then I should not get elected, and so be it. But I think it does work for me.

While gathering signatures I did get some rah rahs that I appreciated the spirit of. But there was a lot of talk of “taking this town back”. So I want to clarify the expectations here that we will not be taking anything back. I might list a bunch of concerns, but the big picture is we still have a good thing here. There is plenty to be thankful for already, but also clear improvement opportunities. It does have to be remembered that if I get the seat I would be only one member of a team. I will be an influence by applying the values I have to it, but this is not some dramatic wave or anything. I am aware that the team I would be joining already does have folks I know to be assets and I will find more I just didn’t know yet. I think I will run into people that read some of the unflattering comments at the top of the thread and felt those were things they have been thinking, possibly even trying to address, themselves. I actually look forward to that part and being able to partner with those folks to help that along.

Sincerely,
Rob Welsh