I am Richard Davis, a 74 year old semi-retired nurse, writer and political activist running for a one year seat on the Brattleboro selectboard. A Boston area native, I have lived in Windham County for the past 45 years, 41 of those years in Guilford and for the past 2 ½ years in Brattleboro with my wife Roberta Levy.
I feel that the current board would benefit from new blood to provide a different perspective on issues important to the people of Brattleboro. Many people have been frustrated at the appearance of a lack of transparency that has surrounded the actions of the current board, especially in relation to the decision to end a long-standing relationship with Rescue Inc.
Any new board member should be prepared to promote as much transparency as possible while asking difficult questions and demanding clear and relevant answers.
Some of the current issues of concern to residents are high property taxes, the lack of affordable housing, the viability of downtown businesses and public safety. While it is clear that one person cannot change the course of local politics, a thoughtful and creative voice can go a long way to moving local government in new directions.
Daryl Pillsbury and I created the Windham County Heat Fund in 2005 and we have raised almost one million dollars of local money while providing over 2000 allotments of fuel to local families and individuals to pay heating fuel bills.
I served on the Morningside Shelter board for 13 years, four as president, and was a co-founder of Guilford Cares. I currently write a weekly blog on current events and post it on iBrattleboro. I was a weekly columnist for the Brattleboro Reformer for 25 years, writing mostly about health care issues.
As executive director of the Vermont Citizens Campaign for Health I lobbied for the creation of a single payer health care system in Vermont and worked for over 25 years with local and national health care activists to promote a universal health care system.
Any thoughts and concerns about town government are welcome. I can be reached at rbdav@comcast.net or at 802-254-2240. If you want to see a discussion of the issues here is a link to a recent selectboard candidates forum: https://www.brattleborotv.org/brattleboro-selectboard-candidates-forum/brattleboro-selectboard-candidate-forum-22224
