Why a "Yes" Vote Matters

Another year, another great Shad Derby weekend. Watching it through my 11-year-old's eyes, I am reliving the joy I felt as a child growing up here, the anticipation of the fun my friends and I would have at the parade and festival each year, and the way the whole weekend heralded the coming of summer just around the corner. As an adult, I enjoy the reunions I have with friends who return year after year (one friend comes all the way from Texas every year, just for this weekend). This year, I found myself driving into town late in the afternoon on Saturday, just a few hours after the parade and festival had ended. The street sweeper was picking up the last of the debris on Broad Street, and workers were cleaning up the green. It was hard to tell that just hours earlier, the green was packed with thousands of folks enjoying the beautiful afternoon. This is typical of Windsor. Cleaning up after a parade might not seem like a big deal, but that kind of efficiency is a reflection of a town that values its citizens and demonstrates the willingness to invest in the resources needed to keep our historic town green clean and safe. I see it as well in the responses to the awful weather events over the last few years, as the town has been able -- thanks to an efficient infrastructure and commitment to keeping that way -- to respond to the needs of the community. I was disappointed that the budget didn't pass the first time around. I was happy to vote "yes" to a responsible, responsive budget. I am worried that the vote against it -- which seems so motivated not by money, but by policy differences with the Board of Education -- reflects an attitude that will eventually endanger the other programs and services that are so vital to the success of our great town.