Letters to the Editor______________________________________ Kuros announces run for Town Moderator

TO MY UxBRIDGE FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS:

I am writing to let you know that I have submitted nomination papers to become your next Town Moderator, and I ask for your vote on May 23rd. As you likely are aware, Ed Maharay has been our town moderator for the past nine years, which I believe to be the longest tenure for a moderator that we’ve had. I’d like to thank Ed for his service to the Town, and I wish him and his wife Barbara nothing but the best in their retirement years – their collective impact on the community is appreciated.

On a personal note, my name may be familiar to you as I served as your State Representative for eight years, from January, 2011 until January, 2019 when I did not to seek a 5th term as your State Rep. Since retiring from the Legislature, I’ve been working in Economic Development – first as part of the Baker Polito administration, and now as part of the Healey-Driscoll administration. Additionally, when I was in the legislature, I served on the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies for 8 years, and the Joint Committee on Communities and Re- gional Government for 6 years.

In my role as the Central MA Regional Director for the MA Office of Business Development, I interact daily with City and Town leaders across the Commonwealth as they work to encourage business growth in their communities. This gives me valuable insight into what is happening in communities across the Commonwealth. I see which communities are viewed as welcoming by businesses, and I see those that are viewed as cumbersome places to do business.

How is any of this relevant to the position of Town Moderator, as the modera- tor only presides over a few town meetings per year, right? Actually, that’s incorrect. A very important responsibility of the moderator in Uxbridge is the appointment of the majority (4 out of 7) of our Finance Committee members.

After the Select Board, FinCom is one of the most important committees in town government, as they deliberate on the budget (holding dozens of meetings), and offer recommendations on *all* town meeting warrant articles, including those of a non-financial nature. Many town meeting attendees look strongly at the FinCom recommendations when deciding how to vote on an article, especially for complex articles where the attendee may not have

We endorse Kuros for Moderator

UxBRIDGE VOTERS,

After 9 years of dedicated service to Uxbridge, Ed Maharay is retiring as our Town Moderator. My wife and I are writing to thank Ed for his service and to encourage you to join us in voting for our former State Representative Kevin Kuros to succeed Ed as our next Town Moderator.

The election is on May 23rd, and of the three candidates, Kevin Kuros would be the best choice as our next town moderator. As you probably know, Kevin was our State Representative for 8 years of perfect attendance.

In that time he was incredibly dedicated to representing us as he did not miss a single vote. He has been part of literally thousands of votes and understands the parliamentary procedure and attention to detail. Interestingly, my wife and I don't always agree on every issue. What we do agree on is that Kevin Kuros would be an asset to have involved with the town. He is deserving of our and your support for town moderator on May 23rd.

Respectfully,

Rumsey & Barbara Smithson

the benefit of in-depth knowledge of the article.

My commitment to you as your Town Moderator will be to appoint (or reappoint) fiscally conservative, businessfriendly finance committee members. Uxbridge is geographically very desirable – mid-way between Worcester and Providence, plenty of developable land, at the intersection of two state roads, etc. I believe we are incredibly well positioned to increase our business tax base without dramatically changing the nature of the community. This means less dependence on personal property taxes, which helps all of us with our daily struggles with inflation. Sending the message that “Uxbridge is open for business!” is an important one, and a FinCom with the correct profile is part of that message.

Regarding the more visible role of Town Moderator – managing the Spring and Fall annual town meetings and any special town meetings – I am ready. As a member of the Legislature I participated in nearly 2000 roll call votes, plus hundreds of committee hearings. I understand spirited but respectful debate, the need for decorum, and the need to respect all opinions including those with which you disagree. I will be able to moderate fairly and impartially. I can avoid the unintentional bias that human nature injects into all that we do, as I do not have paying clients in town that may have articles such as street acceptances, historic district revisions, by-law changes, etc. appear before town meeting. I do not sit on any boards or organizations whose funding is included in the Town budget which will be reviewed by a FinCom that I appoint the majority. I have never been involved with litigation with the Town, as an attorney, a plaintiff, or a defendant. If elected I will:

• Moderate Town Meetings fairly and impartially.

• Institute best practices for Town Meetings. I regularly attended the town meetings of the towns I represented while in the Legislature, and saw what worked well in other communities. I will reconnect with the moderators and solicit their input to be the best moderator I can be.

• Reinstitute former Moderator Ken Redding’s tradition of accepting nominations for and awarding an “Uxbridge Citizen of the Year”. We need to celebrate what is great about Uxbridge!

• Appoint (or re-appoint) fiscally conservative, business-friendly Finance Committee members.

• Implement the MA House of Representatives rule of gavelling any Town Meeting speaker who refers to another attendee by name – the debate needs to be about the issues, not the people. Always.

In closing, I apologize for the length of this letter, but I’m passionate about good government and the town my wife Linda and I have lived in and raised our sons in for the past 24 years.

If you have any questions or would like to discuss my candidacy, please call or text me at (774) 495-0538. I humbly ask for your vote on May 23rd.

Regards,

Kevin Kuros Candidate for Town Moderator Former State Rep.

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