To the editor:
I am excited to announce my candidacy for Lincoln’s Board of Selectman (BoS) and respectfully ask for your support as I follow my passions for serving our town, connecting its citizens and facilitating its future. So you may know me better, I’ll sketch my background, experience and perspective.
My connections to the town go back to 1986 when I met my spouse, Lincolnite Carolyn Caswell Dwyer. We were married here in 1994 and moved in five years later. As a fourth-grade teacher in the Lincoln Public Schools, Carolyn helps me understand the perspective of a town employee. Her parents have lived in town for 50+ years, and her mother, Carol Caswell, helps me understand what local senior citizens are experiencing and what this town was like years ago. Her father, John Caswell, served the town for decades (including Selectman in the 1980s) and is remembered for being principled, forthright, collaborative and congenial. My three daughters are in college, Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, and the Lincoln Public Schools.
I currently serve as chairman of Parks & Recreation Committee (seven years of service) and was chair of the town’s Celebrations & Events Subcommittee from 2006-2015. As a volunteer, I emphasize connecting people and building relationships, not just getting the job done. With Celebrations & Events, we recruited/mentored Lincoln’s high school students to coordinate the July 4th parade and experience public service, creating a multigeneration activity in the process.
Events coordination also provided context for creating good working relationships with staff at the Town Office Building, Public Works, Fire Department, Police Department and of course Parks & Rec. I trust them, and they know I value their expertise. I think Lincoln has been fortunate to have good relationships among the town’s governance, employees and citizens, especially in contrast to other cities and towns, and I will work to sustain this positive trend.
Regional cooperation is important for meeting community needs. With Parks & Rec, we offered a ski program jointly with Sudbury Parks & Rec, and we support Lincoln-Sudbury Little League. To increase awareness of Lincoln celebrations and recreation programs among those living at Hanscom Air Force Base, I initiated contacts with base leaders to understand their points of view and combine marketing efforts. Base residents live in our town. It would be great if we shared a common identity as Lincolnites, especially as our town’s future is highly influenced by the base.
My professional life offers relevant experience for a BoS candidate. Large, traditional financial services organizations hire me to modernize how they manage and deliver technology products. Discerning intended outcomes and defining incremental solutions to achieve them are useful tactics that towns like ours can use when confronted with changing demographics, increasing traffic volume, changes at Hanscom, prospective building projects and other challenges. In practice, Parks & Rec staff and committee have been using this experimental approach to significantly improve the summer camp’s programming, participation, and satisfaction. We also use it when prioritizing capital projects, setting policies for pricing, and making financial aid decisions.
I thank Peter Braun, whose tenure on the board is ending, for his dedication, diligence and patience. His work will endure for a long time—the Route 2 project, Minuteman Tech representation, coordination with Hanscom area towns and the base. If it was not always easy, I hope it is was always rewarding.
Engaging different perspectives, respecting the past while looking forward, and facilitating a future Lincoln that would make today’s residents proud are among my ambitions. I hope this announcement provides sufficient insight into my outlook, experience, personality and the connection I feel to our town, and will win your support. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Jonathan Dwyer
14 Beaver Pond Rd.
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