I am writing in support of Joe Laurin for the Concord Select Board. I first met Joe in the cry room of Holy Family Parish when our kids were preschoolers and I’ve known him ever since our boys attended school together from kindergarten through graduation last year. Until recently, I’ve only known Joe socially, at dinners, through Kicks for Cancer, and along the sidelines at CCHS football games. From those experiences, I’ve gotten to know Joe and he is enthusiastic, giving, and loyal to his family and our town. Moreover, he is a genuinely great guy.
Over the last few months though, I have had the opportunity to get to know another side of Joe. Recently, our town has struggled with both old and new issues. How can we continue to fund our schools as the cost of everything continues to rise? How does the town determine what large budget items to spend money on and when? How should the town balance growth, housing, and affordable housing and raise the revenue to pay for all of it?
Through discussions on these topics and more, I have come to see Joe as the type of leader the Select Board desperately needs at this time. We have spoken about how he will bring his engineering background to structure an approach to problems, how he wants the town to develop an overarching plan to guide our spending, how he will use his business experience to work across stakeholders to drive consensus, and how he will speak up if he believes we are headed in the wrong direction.
Joe is not one of “the old guard” and that is a good thing. He will bring the new thinking and fresh perspective Concord needs — especially right now. Please join me in supporting Joe Laurin for the Select Board and please vote on April 9.
Kristin Martines
Alford Circle