E. Russell Grady
Candidate for Parks and Recreation Department
Greetings!
My name is E. Russell Grady and I am a candidate for a three year term on the Clinton Parks and Recreation Commission. I kindly ask for your vote.
I am a fourth generation Clintonian whose great grand father emigrated from Ireland in the late 1800's. I am the son of Robert W. and Dorothy A. Grady. My father, who served on the Board of Health for 18 years in the 1940's and 1950's, will turn 89 late this summer and my mother passed away in 1989. I have been happily married to my high school sweetheart since August of 1967. That same year we built the very home we live in today on Wilson Street. Shortly thereafter we started our family starting with our son Russell (Jr.) and daughters Colleen and Julie. We are now the proud grandparents of six wonderful children and everyday we are grateful for the family we have. I attended St. John's grammar school and graduated from Worcester Vocational High School. I have held a master barber's license for approximately 42 years and I also hold a construction supervisors license. I was an employee of the state of Massachusetts for 25 years and I am now retired. In the past I volunteered with the Lion's Club, serving as Club President and District Governor for the state. I also received the International Presidents award. Since May of 2007 I have served on the Zoning Board of Appeals and I have a perfect attendance record.
I am proud to be a Clintonian.
My interest and involvement in government dates back to the late 1960's, early 1970's. It was then, that I became involved with a small group of citizens who wished that candidacies for local elections were open to all citizens regardless of political affiliation, if any at all. While we respected the partisan caucuses, we believed they restricted a citizen's right to run for an elected office. As such we submitted an article before the annual town meeting that would allow a citizen, regardless of political affiliation, the opportunity to run for local office so long as they secured the signatures of at least 45 registered voters in the town of Clinton. At the annual town meeting, the citizens of Clinton overwhelmingly passed the warrant. Around the same time, I also desired to serve the town and as such I ran for a seat on the Board of Health. I did so as declaring myself as an independent and by obtaining the 45 signatures required. I was elected that year and as such became the first independent elected to a town office in Clinton. Also around this time, I served as the chairman of an advisory committee to the school committee. We were responsible for bringing Kindergarten into the Clinton School Department.
The Parks and Recreation Commission was formed in 1972 and subsequently the Parks and Recreation Department was formed with a director, two part time summer laborers, summer lifeguards and summer playground leaders. I ask for your vote because I think the Department and the Commission have lacked in accountability, oversight and openness. It is my opinion that there has been little to none of this since long before last September when I started looking into why, with a budget in excess of $200K per year, there is so much money being spent on parks and so little on recreation. As a concerned citizen I decided to attend a Parks and Recreation Commission meeting and ask a few questions. The reaction and rudeness by which my questions were met were extremely disappointing to me as a person and as a taxpayer. Becoming more concerned I wrote the Commission on November 6, 2008 and asked for a copy of the minutes of the meeting I attended. The Massachusetts Freedom of Information Act states that a governmental agency has ten days to respond a written request. I did not receive a response; however, I did receive the minutes on January 19, 2008, some seventy five days after my request. I find their arrogance and utter disregard toward the laws of Massachusetts to be unbelievable.
After this happened, I realized that to ensure my concerns are heard and my questions answered (hopefully respectfully) I needed to run for a position on the board. So at their February 21, 2008 meeting, despite the disrespect and arrogance of some on the board and in the department, I thanked each of the members for their encouragement to run for this office as their actions truly motivated me to run for office. And, as mentioned earlier, I hope that the voters of Clinton will give me a chance to serve. It is interesting to note, Chairman Mendoza wished me good luck and then stated "I hope you win". I thank Mr. Mendoza for his endorsement.
If elected, I promise the following issues or concerns will be addressed:
1. Create an annual Parks and Recreation meeting schedule to include the date and time of each monthly meeting. Ensure the meetings are posted in the town clerks office and pending the outcome of the "official" town web site, post it there too. Citizens should not wonder when the next meeting is and when they pose the question, be simply told to stop by the town hall to check only to find nothing is posted. Openness.
2. Ensure all meeting minutes are stored in a central file located in the town clerks office. This will ensure meeting minutes are not only taken, but kept in a location where they are readily accessible to the citizens of Clinton. I have tried to obtain meeting minutes at the Parks and Recreation office during normal business hours only to find the office closed, locked and/or unattended. Openness...Accountability.
3. Require the Parks and Recreation Director to submit a monthly report to the Parks and Recreation Commission just like the Police Chief, Fire Chief and DPW Superintendent do with the Board of Selectman. The report will be kept and accessible at the town clerks office. Accountability...Oversight.
4. Ensure all bills and/or warrants that go for payment are signed by me. While the Commission can appoint a subcommittee, I pledge to review every bill and warrant and believe every member on the Commission should pledge to do the same. Accountability...Oversight.
5. Ensure that the Freedom of Information Act is adhered to and citizens asking questions of the Commission and/or the Department are met with respect and professionalism. Openness...Accountability...Oversight.
6. Require the Department to keep and maintain a fuel log for all vehicles and equipment. The log would include date, vehicle, equipment or tank number, operator and quantity. Include the statistics in the monthly report provided to the Commission. Accountability...Oversight.
Of the four announced candidates to date, I have only seen Mr. Sheridan at any of the meetings I have attended since September of 2007. This leads me to question if some of the newly announced candidates are running or have been encouraged to run, in order to keep things the same as they are today.
In conclusion, I'll leave you with this. If you have a chance or opportunity to find a 1977 town report, I would ask that you take the time to read the Parks and Recreation report. I then ask you to take a look at any of the Parks and Recreation reports from the past 10 years. I believe you'll find a stark contrast between the two reports. The Parks and Recreation Commission, in my opinion, did a very good job with the 1977 report. They provided an outstanding year end report and review of their department. And as a matter of fact, every salary and expense, no matter who it was paid to, is listed by name and amount, something that we need to bring back to this department immediately. In today's report the word "miscellaneous" appears nearly as often as the dollar sign ($).
I welcome your comments and I ask for your support and vote on May 5, 2008.
Best Regards,
E. Russell Grady
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Contact
russell.grady@comcast.net
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