Author: kerriganforclinton

If your bubble has grown so big it’s about to burst, it’s no longer safe.

More and more, this new spike in COVID-19 cases isn’t the result of superspread events but smaller gatherings like dinner parties and other indoor get-togethers.

We can still control this spike, but that will not happen if we don’t continue smart behavior and stop doing things that have shown to spread the virus.

Clinton moved into the yellow last week after the state changed its standards. Even with those new standards, however, we will be back in the red when the new metrics are released later today. Considering the substantial uptick in cases here, it’s most likely we’ll be in the red for some time.

This could ultimately impact our path to reopening local businesses and returning to in-person learning in the schools. If things do not improve, we will have no choice but to make changes to our reopening plan. The fact is that our behavior in the next few weeks and months will decide our fate, and impact the health and safety of many in our community.

I’m tired of this disease and of how it’s changed our lives for the worse. But I’m even more scared of getting it and giving it to my kids.

Clinton got the coronavirus under control this summer, and we can do it again. So, please, do your part and help us beat this thing.

Preparations for the start of Clinton’s $4.5 million downtown revitalization project began this week, with work scheduled to start on Monday, September 21.

Today, Community and Economic Development Director Phil Duffy, project liaison Mike Tusino and I went door-to-door on High and Church streets, dropping off information and letting business owners and residents know about what’s in store over the next few months. It was great to talk to everyone, to hear their excitement and concerns, and to think about how different downtown will look in a year.

To be clear, this is a major project, and there will be disruptions. But when it’s over, Clinton will have a better, safer, more beautiful downtown that will benefit everyone who works, lives and spends time here.

Work begins Monday with the removal of trees and testing of soil for future drainage work. The current timeline calls for a 45-week project, with a likely break as the weather gets colder. As information is available to us, we will share it online at our new Downtown Revitalization web page. There, you can see what’s in store for the next few weeks, and find contact information for questions and concerns, as well as a link to sign up to our email update list.

We are making every effort to keep everyone on the same page here. If you’re interested in learning more about this truly transformative project, visit the Downtown Revitalization page today.

Thank you, Clinton, for coming out and supporting me in a tough, tough campaign against three really great candidates. I’m encouraged, energized, and excited that you gave me another three years of working for and with you to make Clinton better.

Congratulations to Matt Kobus for running a brilliant campaign. He got his people out, explained clearly what he was about, and won a well-deserved spot on the Select Board. I’m really looking forward to working with him over the next three years.

Lastly, thanks to Dave Sargent and Joe Notaro. Doing a campaign like this, and serving in this position, takes a lot out of you. It is thankless work that, sadly, can sometimes get nasty. To sign up for all of this knowing full well what you’re in for shows a person’s true dedication to and love of our town. We’re lucky to have two former selectmen who were willing to step up again, and I thank them for pushing me to be a better candidate.

My second term starts Wednesday. I can’t wait to get started, again.

A lot of you have asked about holding signs for me tomorrow. First, I’m really humbled that anyone would take time out of their day to support me. Thank you.

You might’ve noticed that this is a different kind of campaign year. Whereas last time we backed up our good ideas with a massive door-knocking effort and multiple stand-outs, this year, during a pandemic, I found the idea of asking people to spend unnecessary time in big groups irresponsible. So I’ve tried to get our message out in different ways. Because, in my eyes, beating this public health crisis is way more important than any election.

So if you’d like to stop by and show your support on Monday, please bring a mask and be prepared to spread out. I can’t say enough how much I appreciate your offers to help, but I respect your health and safety even more.

Thank you again for all the kind words of encouragement over the past few months. They mean more than you can imagine.

Town meeting is tonight at 7. Check in begins at 6 p.m.

Because of the ongoing COVID-19 state of emergency, check in will be a little different this year.

Precinct lists will be posted outside, with voters from Precinct 1 and 2 asked to go to the left, and voters from Precinct 3 and 4 to the right.

There will be markings on the floor for distancing.

Seating will also be socially distanced, but families can sit together.

Participants are asked to wear a mask for their safety and the safety of others. Anyone who does not wear a mask will be asked to go to the balcony in a section set up for them.

Microphones will be cleaned after each speaker.

For more information, including copies of the town meeting warrant and proposed FY21 budget, please visit the town meeting page on Clintonma.gov.

Video for the recent Clinton Board of Selectmen Candidates Night is now available online. Like many things in this time of remote gatherings, we had a couple technical challenges to overcome, but hopefully the answers are clear regardless of the medium.

If you have any questions that weren’t covered, as always, fire away.

CANDIDATES NIGHT VIDEO LINK.

Looks like the campaign is getting real. There’s been a lot of chatter online about how we can get lower property taxes.

The easiest way would be to lay people off, or cut services. If that’s what you’re interested in, there are other candidates.

If you’re interested in making Clinton a better place to live and work while still keeping property taxes reasonable, then we need to look at broadening our tax base, expanding the number of commercial and industrial properties so that the burden on residential property taxpayers isn’t so high.

I looked at this in 2018, when I chaired an ad hoc subcommittee on our property tax split. Working with town employees and members of the community, we came up with two recommendations:

1. Reduce the town’s tax rate split at the rate of 2 percentage points a year until a single rate is achieved.​​ Making an all-at-once leap to a single rate of $19.45 would result in a jarring increase of $883 to the average residential taxpayer. Chipping away at the split would spread out that impact to residential property owners over time, and demonstrate that the town is committed to improving the climate for businesses here.
2. Continue to expand exemption programs as allowed by law.​​ Publicize the availability of these programs, and the senior work program, to increase participation among those potentially affected by a tax increase.

I’m proud to say our board adopted these recommendations (although, sadly, not unanimously). And you know what? Because of an expanded commercial, industrial and personal property assessment, residential property taxes (that’s the 101 classification) went down for the first time in more than 20 years.

Everyone wants more for less. Unfortunately, that’s not how life works. We can talk about lowering taxes by using cheap political tricks like maximizing the split (and alienating businesses, ultimately crippling us longterm) or waving some magic wand, or we can actually do the work and make it happen.

Here are the facts: There is one candidate in this race who has lowed your taxes, and who is committed to doing so in the long term. A vote for me on June 29 is a vote for broadening our tax base and giving REAL tax relief, not cheap lip service, to everyone in Clinton.

Would you like to read our committee’s report on how Clinton can see real residential property tax relief by broadening our tax base?

Check it out here: tax-classification-subcommittee-recommendations-11-15-18-final-1

I announced I’d be running for reelection on March 6.

Back then, I talked about all the progress we’ve made: Growing our tax base, how Town Hall was now more accessible and responsive, and how we’ve all moved toward a Clinton that embraces tradition while evolving to compete in today’s world. I thought I had a good idea of what this election would be about.

Four days later, of course, everything changed.

We’ve gone from arguing about parking on High Street to blocking off spots so that restaurants can reopen with outdoor dining. We’ve re-examined how we run the town, how we can better serve you in a remote-access world, and how we can keep everyone who lives and works here safe.

The world is different now. So being a selectman has to change, too.

Experience matters, but in a time when the rules are changing by the hour, a cut-and-paste approach to leadership will not work.

You deserve local officials who are competent and curious. Modern leaders who are willing to make a bunch of low-risk, high-reward bets on our town. Someone who is brave enough to fail, and smart enough to learn from those mistakes.

You deserve someone who’s resilient and relentless, who’ll never quit no matter how challenging things get.

Over the past three years, making our town, and your life, better has been my job.

Now it’s time for my review.

Three years ago, I told you I’d work for better streets and more sidewalks.

We’ve gotten both, using creative funding sources to supplement state aid and give you more than $5 million in improved local infrastructure at no additional increase in your taxes.

I promised you access, accountability and transparency, and delivered a revamped town website and a new Facebook page, online meeting broadcasts so cord-cutters could follow along at home, and personal access to me across every platform I could get my hands on.

Finally, I pledged smart, aggressive economic development. In the three years since, we have forged a new partnership with downtown business owners, reclaimed a long-vacant property that has the potential to house sorely needed modern manufacturing facilities, and set course on the largest downtown infrastructure project in town history. And, as a response to the challenges of COVID-19, my board took unprecedented steps to reopen Clinton without cutting corners, giving local business owners the chance to serve you safely without the burden of unnecessary red tape.

Clinton is not perfect. Neither am I. But no one has higher standards for this town or our board than I do, and no one is more frustrated when we fail to meet them.

Still, despite all of the challenges of the past three months, we are headed in the right direction. So I ask for your vote on June 29, a vote for the kind of small-town politics you deserve: Not for a name, but for results. A vote for access, transparency and daring. A vote to keep Clinton moving forward.

When Governor Charlie Baker announced Phase 2 of the state’s Reopening Plan, many restaurants were caught by surprise. Early speculation predicted restaurants would be restricted to 25 percent capacity, but the official plan nixed all indoor dining, allowing outdoor table service only.

While some Clinton establishments had outdoor seating already, in most cases it wasn’t enough to justify opening. And many others had no established outdoor seating whatsoever, leaving them wondering how long it would take to secure the necessary permitting and permissions.

That’s why I’m proud our Board of Selectmen, as the local licensing authority and superintendents of the public ways, granted emergency powers this past week to our director of community and economic development and town administrator, giving them the freedom to work with local business owners and give them every tool available to get back to work safely.

This isn’t cutting corners. It’s cutting red tape. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything, so why can’t it change the way we do business in Clinton — for the better?

For the next 90 days, High Street will be a laboratory for low-risk, high-reward change. Already, Clinton’s Bar and Grill has worked with the DPW to block off some parking spots and expand its outdoor seating. Others will certainly soon follow. And shutting down part of High Street altogether for a Friday night or Saturday has been suggested, and I think it’s a great idea to try.

Because that’s the point: This state of emergency has forced us to try new things and, if we’re afraid to take some smart risks or make some responsible mistakes, we will miss a great chance to make our downtown truly someplace special, and maybe lose some dedicated local businesses in the process.

You deserve local leadership that is daring enough to try something new, brave enough to get out of the way, and humble enough to admit that local merchants might have some ideas that we haven’t thought of. Instead of micromanaging, let’s step back and think seriously about how we can make a resilient Clinton that will still be standing tall when this crisis is over.

If you’re a local business owner with questions about expanding open dining, or other aspects of the governor’s reopening plan, contact the Office of Community and Economic Development, or leave me a note and I’ll get you in touch with someone who can help. Together, we’re going to make it through this thing.

I’ve been quiet for too long. I cannot be quiet any more.

We’re lucky to live in Clinton. Our Police Department is full of people who have grown up here, who know this town, who care for us no matter what we look like.

That doesn’t mean you can’t be frustrated with what’s happening in our country right now. Or that your frustration hasn’t turned to anger. I understand. I’m angry as hell.

Please, don’t let that anger turn to violence. The right to gather in public and protest nonviolently is a cornerstone of our nation. We need to work together to change the world, to fix the injustice so many face every day, even doing simple things we all take for granted.

I have no solutions. Frankly, what the world needs right now is fewer white guys talking and more of them listening. What I do have is privilege, and a voice. So if you’re frustrated, or angry, use me. I want to hear from you. If you need a place to vent, plot, plan, strategize, organize or mobilize, I will do whatever I can to help you find it. If you want to talk to Clinton PD to see what they’re doing to keep you, and all of us, safe, I will do everything in my power to make that happen.

I have many friends who are first responders and correctional officers. I appreciate everything they do more than they probably know. With all due respect, this moment isn’t about them, just like it isn’t about me.

This is about you. This is about making sure you know you have a voice and you and your family feel safe, no matter where you come from or what you look like.

Stay strong.