Day: June 29, 2015

Boilerplate GMG Political Statement:

Good Morning Gloucester Does Not Endorse Candidates and this press release should not be indicative of a an endorsement or non endorsement of any candidates:

Please accept this letter as the formal announcement of my intent to become the next City Councilor of Gloucester’s Ward 1. I believe I am the best candidate to serve and steward this City’s vast heritage, landscape and cultural legacy.

The Ward 1 boundary includes Jodrey State Fish Pier, Eastern Point Lighthouse, Blackburn Industrial Park, Pond Road businesses, Good Harbor Beach and the Back Shore. In such a small region, Ward 1 is a great example of how industrial businesses and marine industries can operate in harmony alongside residential neighborhoods, naturally protected areas, and small businesses.

People of action before me have worked tirelessly to conserve the natural landscape that exists in Ward 1: Essex County Green Belt’s Seine Field, Niles Pond, Cripple Cove and the great salt marsh of Good Harbor Beach remain protected and open green spaces for all to enjoy. These areas, however, remain vulnerable and require ongoing stewardship, and as Councilor I would focus on this.

I believe Gloucester should be better prepared for rising sea levels and a potential direct hit from the next super­storm or hurricane. Gloucester should do more to update key Ward 1 infrastructure systems including storm drains, hobbled roads and non­existant sidewalks. And Ward 1 residents can be educated and supported on how to effectively prepare their properties with simple, affordable backyard landscaping techniques to better retain excess run­off storm rainwater.

Ward 1 is my home. Among the things I love most about living here are the beautiful beaches. Good Harbor, Niles, Wonson, Smith and Brace Cove­­­what riches we share! Though some are not public, I remain proud that anyone can enjoy them, especially at sunset. I fully support the amazing work of the Department of Public Works and The Friends of Good Harbor Beach, especially their efforts to protect sand dunes and the salt marsh, and to make the beach more accessible to visitors on foot. Visitors come for all over the world to enjoy our clean beaches and, in turn, our beaches have become an important ancillary revenue stream for the City.

In order to get visitors to stay here, they need places to stay overnight. I was an outspoken advocate for the Beauport Hotel on Pavilion Beach. I wrote strong letters to the Editor expressing my support and participated in community forums because I believe that Gloucester’s blighted property should be made bright again. Ward 1 has some of the best and busiest accommodations in the City and I want to help them to continue to thrive. I celebrate the City’s efforts to support cultural tourism, and applaud its decision to allot 30% of the revenue from the hotel tax to a fund supporting the implementation of the City’s new long­range tourism plan.

I back my beliefs with action. I’ve served as an officer of Gloucester’s Harbortown Cultural District for two years, and co­lead a free mobile app project which promotes and connects visitors to everything that our four Cape Ann Cultural Districts have to offer. The City’s Office of

Economic Development has made great strides in advancing what’s possible in Gloucester. We have a Community Development Director and a soon­to­be created Tourism Development Office but I believe we desperately need a City­level staff person to oversee, coordinate and interconnect those efforts to ensure the cultural sector is represented at the table. We have a Harbor Master Plan but no Arts and Culture Master Plan. A City our size needs one. When we talk about Gloucester’s heritage, the harbor and the arts are referenced as two halves of the same coin. I believe the City needs to develop and adopt policies around public expenditure and private investments in arts and culture so controversies like the David Black public art sculpture become mute.

The thing I love most about Ward 1 are the creative, dedicated, talented, passionate people who live in Ward 1 and work in Gloucester. On any given day, one of my neighbors is performing on stage, hosting a gallery opening, teaching Montessori art classes to pre­schoolers, hanging new art work at a local coffee shop, re­purposing old sails into bags, running half­marathons in memory of a fallen Navy SEAL, leading our farmers market that grows bigger and better each and every year, arranging for an independent film crew to shoot on location in our ‘hood, crafting and cooking gourmet sea­to­table dishes at their award winning bistro, hosting literary sessions with nationally known writers, stewarding our local education foundation to obtain amazing donations, gifts, and Federal grants, or working on witty and snarky blogs that garners national attention and build a sense of community connectedness at the same time (GMG, GloucesterClam, and Facebook’s BecauseGloucester, I’m talking about you). I believe they are inspired to do more because of living in Gloucester and I am inspired by them to do more too.

I know I am going to be a great City Councilor for Gloucester… because of Ward 1. 

Thank you,

Rebecca Borden

Ward 1 Candidate
Gloucester MA
c: 202-329-9549

e: BordenWard1@gmail.com