Photo by Chuck Seggelin: “Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they always keep.” - Denis Waitley
Looking ahead: one person, one Mayor can make a difference in Fitchburg. As the campaign progresses, we watch and wait for our mayoral candidates to make promises if not make their government platforms known to public. But every promise made to us is not just a promise. We hold it as something sacred and treat it with cynicism because it is our way of testing a candidate’s credibility, integrity and honesty.Although most of us don’t enjoy listening to political promises, we still listen to them because they help us figure out what policies will be chosen by our future mayor. They also provide a benchmark for us to link policy decisions with future reelection. In the absence of such promises, it is hard to imagine how we would be able to magically come to a common agreement about what constitutes acceptable performance by an elected mayor.
But should we base our decision from the promises they make? Of course not. Factors such as competence, honesty, ideology, and experience are in many ways a better method of judging a candidate than their promises that may or may not be kept.
Here are some of the promises they made for Fitchburg:
Ted DeSalvatore: My concentration is going to be on the hotspots around the city, especially blighted areas. I will concentrate most on the slumlords, those who don’t maintain their property, and actually nurture an environment for criminals because no one else wants to live there. No crime should go unpunished. We need to make Fitchburg very unfriendly to the criminals. The most dire issues will always be my focus, doing all I can to seek the alternatives, uncover waste, expose corruption as well as the obstructions.
Ronald Dionne: I want a future chief to place less emphasis on schools, and more on drug trafficking. I will dig back through the city’s recent financial history and get to the root of the problems. I’ll be heavy into spending, I want to see receipts — I want to go back to when it started to go downhill, I’d even go two years beyond that.
Thomas Donnelly: I will create a Financial Advisory Team. I will expand appropriate citizen crime watch activities in the downtown areas and develop a city-wide Neighborhood Traffic Control Program. I support further use of the Senior Tax Work-Off Program. I will work diligently with the school system to recruit and retain its best teachers, as well as to develop strategies to support and mentor new teachers. I will support existing school programs and assist in developing new programs aimed at improving student achievement. I will work closely with our state legislative delegation, local business, and state and city officials to develop an aggressive program to seek state funding for Fitchburg projects. I will immediately upgrade our telephone system, work to improve our computer technology and make all forms available on-line to better serve citizens.
Lisa Wong: I will work hard for Fitchburg and provide fresh leadership so that we can improve our economy and grow jobs, make our streets safe and clean, and ensure that the city is on the road to financial recovery and growth. I will ensure we have the financial base and fiscal management to provide top-quality public schools, increased public safety, and essential city services. I plan to develop neighborhood business districts, and streamline the permitting process to make it easier for people to start businesses in Fitchburg. I will market the city as an arts & recreation hub that benefits residents and entices visitors. I will manage the city’s resources carefully so that we will ensure the funding of key programs for our children in music, arts, sports and community involvement.