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A Fresh Approach

I encourage your readers to elect Ken MacKenzie as Guilford’s first selectman on Nov. 7. Over the years, Guilford has been controlled by many of the same faces, which has resulted in a kind of stalemate. People work through the ranks until their turn to be elevated to the top job. By now they have been consumed by the establishment and nothing changes; taxes keep increasing faster than most incomes, which over time must be unsustainable.

Most of us love living in Guilford, but it certainly doesn’t come cheap. That twice-yearly property tax check gets ever harder to write, and Guilford becomes increasingly unaffordable for many. This certainly affects younger people, including my own children who attended Guilford schools, but are precluded from building their lives in their home town.

We need a fresh approach, and Ken MacKenzie will bring that. Ken will work with everyone, but isn’t an insider and, with his fresh perspective, will not be bound by, “We’ve always done it this way”.

We must not forget what Hartford has in store. We are likely to lose most state funding and they want to stick us with teacher pension funding. Add to that our regular spending increase and it’s clear what we could be on the hook for.

Ken MacKenzie will bring his experience from a career in private sector finance, so we will now enjoy professional oversight of our town’s spending. With two young children attending, he has stressed his commitment to excellence in our schools, and has made it clear that town services, including the Senior Tax Freeze, will not be affected.

Ken MacKenzie will be focused on identifying wasteful spending and eliminating it. He will be a breath of fresh air and we will be the better for it.

David Roberts

Guilford