so. blog.: My Vote Recommendations for Tuesday April 10, Needham Election Day

LINK TO THIS PAGE (TO COPY/SEND TO OTHERS!): http://hmny.me/2012NeedhamVoteRecs

Please support the following candidates, and please feel free to share my recommendations with others! I hope we can get a bigger vote turn-out than in 2011 Town Elections, where we only had 13%. Part of that is giving other Needham voters enough information to feel empowered to vote with confidence, and the best way to do that is friends talking to friends!

Download, print and share these recs, here.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS (CONTESTED SEATS)
- Board of Selectman: Michael Greis
- Board of Health (contested write-in): Jane Fogg, 15 Parkinson Road
- Park and Rec: Matt Toolan
- Town Meeting (precinct by precinct): |A| |B| |C| |D| |E| |F| |G| |H| |I| |J|

Board of Selectman: MICHAEL GREIS
For information on all candidates, see: Needham 2012 (Contested) Board of Selectman Race

Michael Greis was endorsed by the Needham Times and the Democratic Town Committee last week.

I am STRONGLY endorsing Michael Greis because in his long and successful experience serving the town on the School Committee and as one of the founders of Green Needham, Michael has shown himself to be a community-first problem-solver, who is uniquely able to build consensus and bridges with different constituencies. He understands that our town sinks or swims together, and that we must invest in and care for those features and resources in our town that make Needham a great place to live. Our schools and our seniors. Our businesses and our residents.

He has the motivation and work-ethic of the energizer bunny... He has been a tireless advocate for Needham, making sure our schools are funded and that every dollar is precious, used effectively.

He has been a leader in orienting Needham toward a greener and more responsible future--which will save us dollars as the global economy of oil will (all experts agree) will only grow costlier. His leadership is forward-thinking, not reactive.

He works for what he believes in, reaching out to all members of our community, and collaborating with others on their priorities. He is always willing to help, and always has more to give, no matter how busy he already is. Every project and organization benefits from his time and input.

I hope you will not only vote for Michael, encourage others to vote for him too, but also consider volunteering for an hour or two on Monday and Tuesday to help get out the vote! With a 13% turn-out (as last election was), EVERY. SINGLE. VOTE. and EVERY. SINGLE. ADDITIONAL. VOTE. that a strong grassroots GOTV operation can turn out makes a HUGE difference.

Can you think of 3-4 friends you can call, to make sure they vote on Tuesday?

I'm making (easy!) GOTV calls on Monday and Tuesday, from a list provided by the campaign. Will you join me?

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Board of Health: WRITE IN: JANE FOGG, 15 PARKINSON ROAD

Read more, here, about this race and write-in campaigns.
There are two candidates running write-in campaigns, because of the unexpected withdrawal of the incumbent candidate. There is no listed candidate on the ballot, so you must be prepared to write in the candidate's NAME and ADDRESS.

I am supporting and urging you to write in JANE FOGG - 15 PARKINSON ROAD for the open Board of Health position.

I have known JANE FOGG in her professional capacity as my PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN here in Needham. I did not learn of her write-in candidacy until Monday night at the LWV candidates' night, at which point I was quite pleased, and thought to myself, "That makes SO much sense!"

As a primary care physician (one of the most important fields in medicine) Dr. Fogg is on the front lines of health care, and keenly understands the public health challenges facing our communities. She will be uniquely positioned to contribute to the dialogue of how public policy and services can best interact with our community's health.

Not only is she qualified (see this link for her statement of candidacy), she is deeply committed and engaged. Our conversations about health care in America have been enlightening.

Please jot down her write-in information, and make sure to write her in for BOARD OF HEALTH on Tuesday!: JANE FOGG - 15 PARKINSON ROAD.

As an aside, let's thank Dr. Fogg and all other write-in candidates who saw the need in our public service, and stepped up. That's awesome and needs to be congratulated!

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Park and Rec: MATT TOOLAN

I'm recommending Matthew Michael Toolan, based on his creative thinking about community services/spaces, and the personal endorsement from persons whose opinion I trust. I liked what I heard from him at the LWV Candidates' Night!

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Town Meeting:
Go to this link for full list of Town Meeting Candidates.

For description/information on what Town Meeting is and does, see here and this blog post in this space.

Precincts C, F, G, I and J are contested (more candidates than seats [24]), precincts A, E, H, have fewer candidates than seats AND have write-in candidates.

I don't know everyone on the ballots, obviously, but I can recommend those candidates from the "yes we can needham/ obama 08" commnity. Please vote for them, and urge your friends to do the same!

Remember, the top 8 vote-getters will get 3 year terms. The next 8 will get 2-year terms. The last 8 will get 1-year terms. So there IS incentive to vote for the strongest candidates, and make sure they get as many votes as possible!