Calvin 1

OPENING REMARKS:

I want to thank the East Lynn Community Association and the Temple for sponsoring this candidates' forum. It is an honor to be a part of such a diverse panel of candidates, increasingly reflective of the mosaic of humankind which makes up our city. As a councilor-at-large candidate, I feel that I am not 'running against' anyone, rather, I am offering myself as a choice to my neighbors. I aim to simply make myself irresistibly available as one of your 4 choices this fall.

Many of my fellow Lynners know of my pro-bono activism in civic affairs. Among them are Founder / Coordinator of The Gateway Project for Lynn, a volunteer-driven beautification group known for creating Gateway Park in memory of the victims who died on September 11, 2001 and my service as a member of the Citizens' Advisory Board of the Office of Economic & Community Development. As a result of that term, I have an appreciation and understanding of the process and for the various human service agencies in Lynn. I am an involved member of the Lynn Historical Commission, the Friends of High Rock Tower & Observatory, the Friends of Lynn Woods, the Friends of Lynn & Nahant Beaches, and the Highlands Coalition. Collectively, we have a string of community-strengthening successes of which I am proud to have been a part.

Due to my involvement in city affairs and my regular attendance at City Council meetings, committee meetings, and public hearings, my neighbors have sought me out as a sort-of 'shadow councilor' when they seem to have reached a dead-end at City Hall. Time & again, I have helped them connect with the right department, get a problem solved, a tree removed, a sidewalk fixed, or storm drain unclogged. My sense of constituent-service and call for strategic growth, creation of a MASTER PLAN for our city, public safety, quality-of-life issues, and good local education are at the forefront of my call to duty.

CLOSING REMARKS:

I can hit the ground running in January. . . My 11 years of solid activism and service to many causes in Lynn have allowed me to get to know and have a working rapport with most departments, city councilors, and our mayor. I have a record of achievement, a working-knowledge of how the system works, and, among those seated at this table, I have a nine-year attendance record at City Council meetings second only to Council President Phelan. I have a vision for our city . . . and let us not forget that the city is not just brick & mortar & wood & glass & steel . . . it is the people who live here. My devotion to our community is a matter of public knowledge. I have a record that I am proud of. I do not claim to have all the answers, but I have a keen process for finding them. I have my regular seat at Council meetings in the front row. Please, with your help, I can be sitting on the other side of that rail, working for you. Please make me one of your 4 choices for Councilor-at-Large this fall.