I am running for town council because I believe in representing and hearing the people of Cumberland. The current town council has spent the past 2 years being a “rubber stamp” as they would always unanimously vote with Mayor McKee’s ideas. The mayor has had some good ideas but always voting in unison with nobody ever objecting worries me. It seems like before the voting had occurred you already knew the outcome as everything being voted on was always approved with no councilor ever objecting or offering deeper dialog. In addition, lately the mayor has bypassed the council completely and gone forward with his agenda. In the highly controversial Mayoral Academy (which is a school Mayor McKee is pushing for that will only educate 50 Cumberland students) the mayor went directly to the Rhode Island General Assembly to secure funding for this project. Why did the council not discuss this academy? Why did the council not ask the mayor to discuss this academy? This academy will get funds that would otherwise be allocated for the Cumberland schools. So less state funds will be given to pay for the “normal” school system. Another thing to think about is what will happen if next year the state does not fund this academy. Will Cumberland have to pay to keep this academy alive? What will happen to the 50 students if this academy is later closed? Regardless if you are for or against this academy, this pet project of the mayor should have been discussed with the council as the Cumberland residents should have had a voice on whether the mayor should have gone to the RI General Assembly to get funds for this academy. As it is, Cumberland gets poor support from the state to fund our schools. We should be fighting with the General Assembly to get more money for our schools, not for money to pay for a new academy that will only educate 50 Cumberland students. Here is a comparison of per pupil state aid for similar communities based on per capita income:

Cumberland: $2635
Coventry: $3665
Exeter/ West Greenwich: $3832
Chariho: $3969
Foster/Glocester: $4167
Middletown: $4439
Bristol/Warren: $5924

Lets fight to get more money for our current schools! But if this mayoral academy is something that we must have, then let’s discuss it with the people of Cumberland first. The role of the Cumberland Town Council is to represent the people of Cumberland so why did the council never discuss nor ever ask to discuss this academy?

With this economy I see many Cumberland residents struggling to survive. Many are living paycheck to paycheck and with the high fuel/heating costs, many residents are struggling. Therefore why do Cumberland taxes keep rising over 4% each year? What is being done to cut spending so that taxes can be lowered? If I ran my business like this town is being run, I would surely be out of business very quickly. Luckily for the town it can spend all it wants as this spending is just passed along to the tax payers who have no choice but pay the tax bill that they receive each year. I promise to fight for less spending and will work to lower taxes.

In Cumberland we have the privilege of paying a fire tax. Each district of the town has its own fire department that charges its own rates for the fire tax. Why not combine all the fire districts so cut costs and spending? We are spending a great deal of money on firefighter overtime because we do not work together with the firemen scheduling. The overtime is costing the town of Cumberland over 1/2 a million dollars per year. The town of Cumberland operates as if it were 4 towns as each fire department is independent from the other. If organized properly we could do the same great job protecting our residents from fires but we could save a bundle in poor spending. If elected, I will work hard to phase out this fire tax as I know that if run efficiently no firemen jobs will be lost and we would NOT have to pay a fire tax.

Finally, why can’t the residents of Cumberland get their basic needs taken care of properly? I saw how this spring the yard wastes (leaves, grass clippings, etc) were not picked up on Saturdays as promised. On my street I saw the same paper bags sitting on the curb for weeks. I actually had to re-bag my leaves as the bags fell apart from sitting outside so long as the weather destroyed the bags. We spend money on all kinds of programs yet the basic needs of our residents are not being taken care of. If elected I promise to care of you and will always be a phone call (or house visit) away. Please let me know what is going on so that I can work to fix whatever you may need. I grew up in Cumberland and have grown to love this town. I will do what is right for the people of Cumberland.

I ask that you vote for me on Tuesday September 9
so that I can fight for you!