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Look Past Labels

On Election Day, Nov. 5, the one candidate I will be certain to vote for to serve on the Chester Board of Selectmen is Tommy Englert. Tom Englert is a longtime Chester resident, a homeowner who pays property tax, a family man, and someone who works at an important local employer and taxpayer. Tom Englert also has relevant experience as a former member of the Board of Selectmen, and he currently serves on the Chester Elementary School Board of Education.

My advice this election, specifically when it comes to Tom Englert, is to put political party labels aside and pay close attention to the candidates. What is important is substance: how a person has lived his or her life, shared values, contributed when possible, and whether that person has what it takes to put the town’s interests along with those of residents and taxpayers ahead of their own.

On Nov. 5, I will not be voting to support a national party nor a political party’s leadership. On Nov. 5, I will look past labels. I will look for the best candidates who can do the best job for Chester. I plan to vote for Tom Englert, who happens to be a Republican, but more important, a qualified and worthy candidate for the Chester Board of Selectmen.

Joe Cohen

Chester