 Hi, my name is Sam McLeod and I'm running for Amherst Town Council for District 5. That's South Amherst, precincts 7 and 8. If you vote at the Munson Library or Crocker Farm Elementary School, you can vote for me on September 4th. I'm asking for your vote. I need your vote and I need your support. You can learn more about me at my website at www.sammacloud4amherst.com. I'm running because I care about Amherst. Amherst is my hometown. I grew up here. I've been a member of the community since 1962. I went through Amherst schools from kindergarten through high school and went on to graduate with degrees from the University of Massachusetts. My parents lived in town and graduated from Amherst High School. My grandparents lived and worked in town and were active in the community. My children go to the Amherst school systems. The McLeod family has been a part of the Amherst community for 100 years. I'm not looking to run for any higher office and I'm not looking to promote any business. But I do care about Amherst as it's my town. I believe the town council will benefit from the independent voice and perspective and practical mindset that I'm going to bring to the town council. If you want somebody to be your council representative who truly cares about Amherst, vote for Sam McLeod. The fact of the matter is Amherst is becoming unaffordable for many of our residents. The tax burden is one of the highest in the state and it's affecting those on fixed income and it's also contributing to higher rental costs. Higher taxes and higher expenses for homeowners means higher rents. Younger families of modest incomes are less able to afford housing than in the past and our school enrollments are continuing to decline year after year. We need to recognize this. If you want somebody who understands the need to address the affordability issue of living in Amherst then vote for Sam McLeod. We have a lot of upgrades and replacements to our infrastructure buildings that we want to make and at the top of the list is Fort River and Wildwood elementary schools. I've been in the buildings on multiple occasions, talked to educators and talked to teachers who work in the buildings whose opinions I respect and I'm convinced that the open classroom model is a serious problem that we need to deal with. I'm not going to prejudge what we should do. We have a feasibility study going on right now at Fort River looking at building a new building on site, making an addition, looking at repairs. Let's make an informed decision and wait and see what the information presents to us. We owe that to ourselves and we owe that to our community. We also have statements of interest coming that have been resubmitted to the state for both Fort River and Wildwood regarding matching funds. Let's see what happens. We also have need for a South Amherst fire station, additions to the Joan Library, DPW building, new senior center, staffing for police and fire departments. And we have preschoolers who are waitlisted because there's not enough space. Now that's something we can deal with right away. We have building space in town and we can allocate the resources and we should do so. We're going to have to make some compromises and we're going to have to live within our means. We need to understand whose money it is that we're spending in town. It's your money. And if you want somebody who's going to value your taxes and invest the money wisely, vote for Sam McLeod. When I become your town council member, my priority is going to be to listen to the residents of South Amherst. I want to minimize the tax increases on our town residents and I want to be practical in our decision making. I want to make Amherst a business-friendly town. Let's smooth some of the regulatory requirements for new businesses and contractors. They're an important part of our community. I want to continue Amherst on its green path without placing any undue burdens on our businesses or residents. Let's do some simple things. How about we put some electric car chargers all around town? Electric cars are coming. Let's get ahead of that curve. Let's do some simple things like putting some water fountains downtown. Bicyclists and other pedestrians can fill up containers without buying plastic. Small things, but they're going to brand Amherst as a green community and that's going to be good for our economy. I want to expand our tax base and encourage economic development for a year-round economy and separately, we have a lot of big buildings going up downtown, a lot of controversy. We need to strengthen the review process. Let's get the residents involved working with the architects and the builders. Look at the Bank of America building versus the Lord Jeffer, the police station. Design matters. Let's get this right. Let's make it a win-win scenario. I want to support our dedicated educators and town employees. They serve us well and they need our support. I want to support Amherst youth programs and spacing for senior centers. Some simple things we can do is to reduce the after-school fees for kids who want to play in sports. Every kid should be able to play in sports. This election is going to come down about values and priorities and I want to represent all residents of South Amherst from Brittany Manor and South Point to Amherst Woods. I believe I have the values, priorities, and independent voice that Amherst needs. I'm asking for your support and your vote. All together now. Let's do this. Vamos, Amherst. Thank you.