Election is Tomorrow, who are you voting for?

[The Watcher]

The election is tomorrow and it seems to me that the School Committee races have created more buzz than anything the City Council could muster, not offense to our City Council.

Who are you casting your vote for tomorrow?

I am voting for change. In fact, I may write in Frank D'Agostino so that we have a chance to remove the entire head table.

As for Ward 1, well I have only heard from one person and she seem cool, My vote goes to Melissa Cook

Ward 2, Jim Stors is enthusiastic and appartantly well educated but seems to attack alot. On the flip side, Shawn Moran has been absent for every campaign event and seems to be home tending to his stomach bug. My Vote Jim Stors

Ward 3...God bless you Bob Hill....you escaped the mayem

Ward 4...Tough on....The snacklady vs Tyrannasuarus Jax. The snack lady seemed a bit uncomforttable the the debate, but I might have too if I had the open meeting question weighing on my mind. TJax seemed very angry and loud. Tjax has made some nice contributions in her 14 years on SC but seems to have fallen into the Pia Durkin trap. This is a close one but I go with ...Snack lady

Ward 5...Probably the cleanest run of all the ward races. Fran Zito is her usual sweet self that everyone adores. David Sidman is unknown but seems very well spoken and on point with the issues. I love Fran but her comments about Advance placement grants helping the graduation rate and some responses to the AEA Questionnaire show she is out of touch. My Vote....the new guy

Ward 6....Tyler may not be the best speaker but he cares a qhole lot. Bruce Levine comes off as a pompous ass and was part of the 'team' that brought Pia here in the first place. gott go with Tyler

At Large-- All new blood here. Have to vote for DiCiaccio as he has heart. I see him as a leader on the School Committee for years to come. Teri Enegren is a good caring candidate who will serve well. I am not sure if I am casting a third vote for an at large candidate. The other 2 are both on the executive committee that formed the "group" and all unabately support the superintendent. If I had to chose, I think that Helen Johnson would be the lesser of two evils. I planed on voting for her straight out at the beginning but her alliance with Jackie and Robbie in their newspaper article made me look again,

Those are my picks, what are yours?

[sunshinesonfire]

I live in Ward 4 - I am voting for Brenda Furtado, with Ray and Teri for at-large. I agree with you 100% - it is time for a changing of the guard.

I know Ray because he was the Secretary of Attleboro Youth Baseball. He is very dedicated, having to input ALL AYB registrations into a computer - this may not seem like a large task, but really it is like 50 hours of work. He never missed meetings and stayed in touch with issues at all ages, not just in his boys' age groups. He is sincere, well spoken, professional, and an all-around nice guy.

I actually knew Brenda's husband before I knew her. The Furtado family is wonderful. Jeff is the treasurer of Pop Warner football, and has had a huge hand in cleaning up after the league was the victim of poor leadership. Brenda has stood by his side, mostly behind the scenes, but I know the work she has done, and I know that it has not been an easy road getting the league on track. Brenda also is very in touch with school concerns as a PTO member. She will do a great job as a school committee member.

I would also vote Stors, Sidman, and Tyler, but they are not in my ward. I will not be voting on a third at large seat . . .

[Jacqueline L. Romaniecki]

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ELECTION SUNSHINE!

[sunshinesonfire]

Thanks Jackie! I was very supportive of the candidates I wanted in office, I am proud of them! Please don't put the wrong face with the screen name, I am NOT Brenda Furtado, as many would like to believe.

[ricknkim]

I think Bruce Levine is a good person and cares a whole lot - don't confuse passion, confidence and drive for "pompous". I like Di Ciaccio too. I think it is a good idea for some fresh sets of eyes to look at our overall system and that there is some abrasive personalities and less than refreshing ideas with some of the current members (not all).

[The Watcher]

ricknkim,

I agree that DiCaiccio is a breath of fresh air, but agree to respectfully disagree in regards to Levine. He is abraisive and I honestly feel backs the administration too much. I think we need fresh blood with open minds and new ideas.

There needs to be a shift that will add support to the teachers. They are currently not feeling the love and, in my opinion, this is a negative on our children. AS in any environment, if the employees are not happy, the productivity and the passion that one may have for their job may be comprimised.

The instability in school leadership (principals) has been a major issue and the current SC just seems to accept this as the norm.

there are some good members on the board (Tyler, Cook and Hill), Mrs Zito is very nice but I think she is out of touch and the remainder are either 100% supportive of the superintendent regardless of the issue or are just silent.

tomorrow should be very interesting.

[sunshinesonfire]

A question on the voting process, because I must say, I have never been so interested in a local election, when are the tallies completed, and how are they announced? Channel 15???

I agree with you on Mrs. Zito: I think she has the best of intentions, but I think that Sidman would be the better choice.

[The Watcher]

I believe that they cover the results live but I am not 100% sure.

[Diane Moran]

I think The Watcher is a coward. Why do you feel the need to hide behind a nickname rather than let people know who you are. If you have your own opinion you should feel confident enough to state it and use you given name. You also need to use spell check as you have quite a few mistakes in your submission. I think this is a sad day for Attleboro politics when an election has brought out such negative statements. This election is giving a black eye to politics in our city. When a sitting Committee member can attack other members of the same Committee doesn't say much for him. If he thought wrong doings were going on by other Committee members why didn't he do something about when he first became aware of it. I think the reason he has waited 3 years to bing this supposed wrong doing to the forefront is it never happened in the first place. As a Committee member it was his responsibility to bring up and address any supposed illeagal issues immediately, not wait 3 years until he decided he no longer wants to be in politics. If this alledged incident actually happened then the phrase dereliction of duty comes to mind on his part. As far as Principals leaving once again the Watcher misses the mark. The School Committee has no input into whether a Principal or Teacher stays or goes. Personnel issues are not in the relm of duties of a School Committee member. My husband is Shawn Moran and he is running for re-election. I would ask every voter in the City of Attleboro to come out and Vote and for Ward 2 Voters please vote to re-elect Shawn Moran to the School Committee.

[sunshinesonfire]

Well Mrs. Moran, you are one to talk. Who knows why FD took 3 years to "bing" this to anyone's attention? Maybe YOU should use some spell check. I find it humorously ironic that the incumbants have their spouses writing in, as opposed to the newcomers who speak for themselves. Who sits on the school committee, you or your husband?

I think FD was in quite a quandry, for some time. What should he do, speak up sooner and risk being removed from a board that desperately needed him to help balance out the powers, or stay quiet until he knew that new candidates had the opportunity to take his place in representing parental concerns? That is a pretty tight rope to walk.

I think your husband is a coward, sending his wife in to do his fighting for him. Your opinion is useless and a waste of your time, unless of course, you want to take your husband's place on the school board. Then I am all ears to your thoughts, but you probably wouldn't get my vote.

[Diane Moran]

I meant bring. OOPS. These are MY opinions not my husbands. Thats why I signed in as MYSELF not as Shawn. Shawn speaks for himself and I speak for myself. There should never have been a quandry for FD. Either FD believed something to be illegal or he didn't. It's that simple. He now contends that it was illegal. That means it was his duty to have notified the appropriate authorities immediately. There is no room for any other conclusion. If I witnessed what I thought was a bank robbery should I wait 3 years to decide maybe someone did something wrong? I think Frank knows that nothing illegal happened and all he is trying to do is muddy the waters. How could he be removed if he was bringing up an illegal act? Another point; My husband is not a coward because he is not sending his wife to do his fighting and if the truth be told he probably would prefer it if I kept my opinions to myself. Also my opinion most certainly is not a waste of time because all citizens of Attleboro of which I have been one for over 50 years are entitled to. Thats why the incumbants should stay in office because they care about our opinions not just their own voices as most of the new candidates for School Committee seem to care about.

[ricknkim]

I think calling someone a coward for using a screen name is plain wrong

[David Sidman]

It's a shame that politics is like this. Best of luck to all the candidates tomorrow.