 My name is Peter Vickery. I'm running for Town Council in District 2 and I would be very grateful for your vote on Election Day. As you can probably tell, I'm not from around here originally. I was born and raised in Swansea, South Wales. I'm an immigrant, a naturalized citizen and very proud to be an American. I'm an attorney with a master's degree in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and I'm a former member of the Governor's Council, the elected body that approves or rejects the Governor's choice of judges and a former member of the State Ballant Law Commission, the body that adjudicates election disputes and I've served on Amherst Town Meeting and the Board of Directors of the Amherst Area Chamber of Commerce. Amherst has been home since 1999. It's where my wife Meg and I chose to raise our three children. We moved to Amherst in part because it's a wonderful place to build a family. Our three children have all attended the public schools and I'm dedicated to ensuring that Amherst's public schools remain first rate for all children. To that end, I served on the Amherst Regional High School Council, not to be confused with the school committee and I supported the proposal to build a new school on the Wildwood Elementary School site as did a clear majority of the people who voted in the 2017 referendum. I'm also in favour of the plan to renovate and expand the Jones Library and against the decision to increase the hours we have to pay for metered parking in the downtown. For details of where I stand on these and other issues, please go to my website, votevickery.com Over the years, serving on town meeting on the Board of the Chamber of Commerce and on the High School Council, I've learned how critically important economic vitality is for the ongoing success of our public schools and vice versa. Our excellent public schools are essential to the local economy. For Amherst businesses to attract and retain talent, they need to be able to show prospective employees that ours is a community that's committed to strengthening public education and the social fabric. And that, maintaining our excellent schools, producing a built environment to be proud of, conserving open space and safeguarding our social services, all that depends on economic vitality. The town's annual budget is about 90 million dollars. We have almost 500 full-time equivalent benefited employees and we're responsible for paying retiree pensions and other post-employment benefits. That's a lot of money. And most of that money comes from the residential property tax. To share that tax responsibility more equitably, we need more small, locally owned businesses and more homes, homes that people on average incomes can afford. Amherst needs more jobs and more homes. So our new town council will need somebody who will promote policies that will help create new private sector jobs, who will oppose policies that undermine local businesses, and who is not worried about appearing insufficiently progressive. That's what I've done on town meeting and that's what I would like to continue doing on your behalf on Amherst town council. Plus, as an attorney, I have some experience advocating for others and helping resolve contentious issues, sometimes amicably. I believe that government can and should make life better for people, particularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. After all, as the Massachusetts Declaration of Right states, government is instituted for the common good. For the protection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people, and not for the profit, honour or private interest of any one man, family or class of men. I think that sums it up pretty well. So I'm committed to making our new town council transparent, responsive and accountable. That's why I've adopted tighter campaign contribution standards than the law requires. So no contributions from developers and no contributions from the unions that represent town employees. Just to be clear, I've absolutely nothing against developers or our wonderful public employees. They all help make Amherst a great place to live. But when it comes to bargaining and budget decisions, you should not have to wonder which side of the table your councillors are on. I'm on your side. It's on election day. Please vote Vickery. Thank you for watching and listening.