Please Vote for Sal Giorlandino on Monday
Barbara Murphy
Dear Resident,
I am writing to encourage you to vote for Sal Giorlandino for Selectman on Monday, May 10th. I am supporting Sal because I feel Sal is the best candidate for the job. He is committed and has served the town well—doing things that are right, regardless of whether they are popular.
For those of you that may not know me very well, I have lived in Southborough for over 38 years and have served on the Council on Aging and the Southborough Housing Authority in elected positions and the Southborough School Building Committee and the Police Chief Selection Committee in appointed positions. My professional background is in Systems Technology and Human Resources.
I would like to briefly talk about my experience with the Police Chief Selection Committee and why I am choosing to vote for Sal Giorlandino over John Rooney. I volunteered for the committee because I had heard there was a group of people in town that did not want Jane Moran to be the new chief. I was neither in favor nor against her for that position. What I wanted was a fair and effective search for the town; so I volunteered and was selected. Since that time I’ve seriously wondered if I would volunteer for another town committee again. The negative comments from the bloggers, the innuendos from those that never came to one meeting but pretend to know what happened, and the false statements that surround the resignation of John Rooney have troubled me greatly. I have resisted speaking out and giving the bloggers more fodder for their continued discussion of something they know little about. No one ever called me to ask what really happened.
Let me share a few facts:
1. The Police Chief Selection Committee was perhaps the best committee I have worked on—either professionally or for the town. Everyone was committed to finding the best candidates to present to the Selectmen for final consideration. We knew from the beginning we needed to do the best due diligence possible to arrive at the best possible recommendations for the Selectmen.
2. The Selectmen asked us all if we would be committed to the time necessary to make a recommendation by the fall. We all agreed. They also asked that we ensure all members be present for all of the actual interviews.
3. Prior to the evening that John Rooney walked out, he had already missed two meetings of the committee. Those meetings were the ones where we narrowed down the candidate list to those we would interview. He did give us his recommendations but was not there for the discussion.
4. John came a few minutes late to the first actual interview meeting and proceeded to interrupt the update that the Chair was giving the committee on what had happened at the Selectman meeting concerning our use of BadgeQuest. He kept interrupting despite being asked to wait until the update was finished. John got angry and left prior to a discussion about how we would actually use BadgeQuest in our process.
5. BadgeQuest received the resumes of the candidates, a copy of the questions being asked, and observed all our interviews. For our final deliberations, Mr. Unsworth participated in our discussions, providing feedback from his independent research of the candidates.
6. John has also not attended Town Meetings since December 2001 (a special meeting) until this year when he signed in for both meeting nights.
Quite frankly, I was stunned to learn that John Rooney was running for Selectman. He does not measure up to what I consider a qualified candidate for such an important position in this town. Not only did he not fulfill the commitment he made to the Selectmen to participate fully in the committee meetings, but he quit when he thought he wasn’t getting his way. A selectman needs to work with many different people, groups, and caliber of individuals to affect the best possible outcome for the town. I do not believe John has those skills. From other comments John has made publicly, I also do not believe he knows our town bi-laws or operating procedures. This was his first committee work for the town and he quit.
So, that’s why I would urge you to NOT vote for John Rooney. I would, on the other hand, urge you to vote for Sal Giorlandino because he IS committed to the town. He has worked tirelessly as Selectman for the last three years for the best interests of the town. Sal is willing to make tough decisions when required and to help find solutions when they are needed. He has also served on the Affordable Housing Trust Committee, the Emergency Planning and Management Committee, the Metrowest Growth Management Committee, and the Zoning Advisory Committee. And as a result has shown his commitment to both the town and the individuals that live here.
Please feel free to pass this to your neighbors, family and friends and urge them to vote on Monday May 10th.
A concerned citizen,
Barbara Murphy
Neil Rossen
It is now made eloquently clear by others that the Police Chief Selection was a fiasco. Succeeding events confirm that. Those more knowledgeable than myself have been into some detail on this. The BOS has failed the Town. New leadership is needed.