 Hi, my name is Lynn Griezmer and I'd like to talk with you about the challenges I see for our town and the contributions I hope to make as a member of the New Town Council, representing District 2. This will be a major transition for our community and I want to help it to go well. That includes listening, finding common ground and moving forward. We have one chance to make a good start. I'm not running to grind any particular acts, but I do have strong feelings about some key issues. I think we need to have a more coherent approach to the linked issues of development, the quality of our neighborhoods and the residential tax burden. Residential property taxes cannot continue to bear so much of the burden for schools and services. I want to apply my experience in economic development to broaden the tax base and provide relief to homeowners. But economic development must serve our values. A vibrant downtown and sensible village centers require better solutions for parking, balancing businesses and housing and respecting our small town character. I also believe strongly in sound stewardship for the school's municipal and library facilities that generations of taxpayers have paid for. Kicking the can down the road on necessary capital projects helps no one and I will be a forceful advocate for balanced and financially and environmentally responsible capital planning. You should know a little bit about me. I grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania with parents who demonstrated civic responsibility every day. My father was a local attorney and my mother was a social worker and housing advocate who showed my sisters and me what it meant to be well educated, involved and independent. Something that wasn't common among young women back then. By the time I was 18 they had both passed away and I found myself raising two younger sisters. The power of our obligation to each other and really hit home as I went to college, worked and raised the girls with the help of family, friends and social security. My first job out of college was a math teacher in rural Appalachia. Those years made an indelible impression on me about the power of public education and our obligation to bring out the best in every child. After that I spent my career working to build strong public and educational organizations. First at the University of Rhode Island, then as executive director of a seven state educational collaborative and for the past 31 years with the UMass Donahue Institute. Along the way I took a deeper dive into understanding how strong public institutions work through the mid-career program at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. That's also where I met my husband of 25 years, Brian Harvey, who served on the Amherst Finance Committee and the Select Board making local government part of our daily diet. My record of professional and volunteer services provides a good idea of the kind of counselor I will be. I've been involved in town government as a town meeting member and as chair of two committees working to replace our woefully outdated central fire station and public works building. That gave me the opportunity to help renegotiate the zero energy bylaw, which passed most recent town meeting with a resounding 149 to two votes. For the past decade I've had the privilege of working with the Amherst Survival Center. I chaired the capital campaign for our new building and I am now president of the center where we continue to provide food, clothing, health care, wellness and community. My professional life has been very, very rewarding. I started with the UMass Donahue Institute as a program manager organizing training for union workers and providing services for dislocated workers. As executive director and associate vice president for economic development for the university system, I've led statewide programs in public service and policy analysis, including workforce development, economic analysis, national training and head start, the annual STEM summit and the biannual academy for new legislators. I have no illusions about the challenges the first group of counselors will face, but I love a challenge and this is a good one. The issues we face are not easy and will require careful listening, discussion, creative thinking and principled compromise. This is how I have approached just about everything in my life. Before closing I want to thank Amherst Media for providing this public service to the citizens of Amherst. Thanks for listening and please remember to vote on September 4th and if you live in District 2, I hope you'll consider me for one of your two votes. Thank you.