Who is a member?
Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Kate Hertz, a sixth grader at the Village School in Marblehead, read her winning essay about using technology to increase civic participation during the MMA Annual Meeting on Jan. 25 in Boston.
“I would make a difference by creating a Town Meeting and voting website,” she said, showing impressive composure in front of nearly 300 local officials. “I believe that everyone deserves a voice, even those who cannot make it to the Town Meeting or other voting events.”
Waltham Councillor Robert G. Logan, in one of his final duties as president of the MMA, presented Hertz with a certificate of achievement and a check for her first-place finish in the MMA’s seventh annual sixth-grade essay contest. Hertz and her family also won a complimentary overnight stay from the Sheraton Boston Hotel.
Her parents and older brother Jack looked on proudly as Hertz told the audience, “My community means everything to me. I want to make it a better place.”
Hertz’s essay was chosen from more than 2,300 entries in the statewide contest, which had 117 participating communities. The student essays covered a range of local issues, including healthy living, recreational services, green energy, wildlife protection, public safety, and technology.
Sherborn Selectman Paul DeRensis, one of three essay contest judges, said he was “particularly impressed by the creativity of the many ideas expressed in the papers I read.”
“There are so many well-written papers that as a result the selection process was not easy,” he said.
The other two judges were Dina Siegal, deputy director of intergovernmental affairs in the Boston mayor’s office, and Westborough Assistant Town Manager Kristi Williams.
Judging criteria were creativity, clarity, proper use of grammar, and an understanding of local government. All of the student essays began with the line: “If I were elected leader of my community I would make a difference by …”
Second place in the contest went to Caitlin Spencer, a student at McCloskey Middle School in Uxbridge. She read her essay at the School Committee meeting on Jan. 29 and was recognized by Principal Karen Maguire and Superintendent Kevin Carney. Spencer will also read her essay in front of the Board of Selectman and town manager at a later date.
The third-place finisher was Sydney Guden from the Freeman Kennedy School in Norfolk.
Spencer and Guden will receive their awards in ceremonies in their respective town halls.
The essay contest is made possible through the support of the Massachusetts Interlocal Insurance Association.
First Place: Kate Hertz
Village School, Marblehead
If I were elected leader of my community, I would make a difference by creating a Town Meeting and voting website.
I believe that everyone deserves a voice, even those who cannot make it to the Town Meeting or other voting events. The website would include a spot for actual voting that would be counted in the regular vote. There would also be an email attachment so that at any point during Town Meeting, anyone who emailed their ideas would be heard. A live feed of the meeting would also be included so that everyone could watch the meeting, even if they don’t know what TV channel the meeting is on or if they have no TV available.
I would first ask people in the community to sign a petition. This would show the Board of Selectmen that people believe in my idea. Next, I would present my idea to the Board of Selectmen. They would bring it to Town Meeting for a vote.
I would also inform the Board of Selectmen that I realize that this technology might create additional costs to the town. To help pay for this, I would create a fun charity benefit to bring the town together, raise money, and get the community excited about my idea. There might be a small tax increase, but it would be worth it.
At the end of all of this, my community would hopefully have a new website and everyone in the community would be heard. My community means everything to me. I want to make it a better place, and this is how I believe I can do so.
Second Place: Caitlin Spencer
McCloskey Middle School, Uxbridge
If I were elected leader of my community, I would make a difference by working hard to increase town revenues in order to improve the services provided to residents of Uxbridge. I would increase the revenues by applying for grants, convincing businesses to come to our town, and asking for donations from wealthy families and businesses.
If your town receives a state grant, it helps pay for your town’s new parks, schools, environmental programs, road maintenance, and other important things in the town. If we were to apply and were awarded a grant, it could benefit the town greatly.
If we convinced some big businesses to open in the town of Uxbridge, we would get more revenue because the businesses would have to pay taxes to our town. We could convince them by telling them we have a lot of space for their businesses to operate, particularly up on Sutton Street and where the Bernat Mill used to be. The increased revenue for the town could be used to improve the school system and other services in the town.
I would also ask wealthy families and businesses to donate money to help build a community center. This center could have a swimming and diving pool, a soccer field, a gymnasium for sports activities, and a fitness center for residents to work out in. It could also attract people from other towns, too. The older people of the town could go there, too. We could have the bus from the senior center drop them off, so they could swim and exercise. I think the residents of Uxbridge would enjoy this.
This is what I would do if I were elected to run the town. I think it would make people proud to live in Uxbridge and would make a lot of people want to move to Uxbridge.
Third Place: Sydney Guden
Freeman Kennedy School, Norfolk
If I were elected leader of my community, I would make a difference by having more streetlights around the town of Norfolk.
Each town in Massachusetts elects a Board of Selectmen. This is the executive branch of government. In Norfolk, the Board of Selectmen are James Lehan, chairman; Robert Garrity, vice chairman; and Scott Bugbee, clerk. They provide leadership, make decisions and are in charge of the overall operations of the town.
The legislative branch of the town is the town meeting. Town members participate and may vote at town meetings. You must be 18 years and a registered voter to vote. You can access information from past meetings by going to the town website: www.virtualnorfolk.org.
If I were elected as a leader, I would want all streets to be safe and well lit. I would rally to get more streetlights installed in neighborhoods for safety reasons. It would be for the early morning and evening dog-walkers, runners and walkers. Also, more streetlights would reduce the number of robberies in the community. Officer Steve Plimpton of Norfolk talks to us in DARE class about many of the recent robberies. I feel more streetlights could reduce these robberies.
When I moved to Norfolk, the first thing I noticed was there were no streetlights on my road. The house across the street from us was robbed twice. I feel this might not have happened if there were streetlights. We were home in the evening during these robberies, but did not notice anything suspicious across the street because it was so dark.
As a leader I would rally for streetlights. I would hold an open town meeting and urge all registered voters to attend. Hopefully the people in the town would be behind me for safety reasons.