There are many compelling reasons to vote for Marie Sobalvarro for Board of Selectmen. For me, as a parent of a child in the Harvard school system, there’s one overriding reason I’ll be casting my vote for her: I want parents of school-aged children to have adequate representation on the main decision-making body of the town.
Without Marie, only one of five selectmen would be personally connected to what is going on in our schools on a daily basis, and that is not balanced representation.
The schools take up 70 percent of our budget. If at any point we need to make tradeoff decisions to balance a budget, I want voices on the Board of Selectmen who know deeply and personally the ramifications of those tradeoffs. And Marie’s viewpoint will never be parochial; she truly sees the big picture, and impact across all groups.
In addition to her personal connection to the schools, Marie has more knowledge and command of our town’s finances and the issues affecting them than anyone, by far. So she’s also the most qualified to help our town through these tough financial times.
Marie is a brilliant woman with great ideas and a large heart, who wants to listen and give voice to those in town who aren’t always heard: kids, senior citizens, and everyone in the middle. She’s a true optimist who’s also well-informed and practical.
As a volunteer, she’s given more time and quality of effort to this town than anyone else I can think of—from PTO and the League of Women Voters, through Council on Aging, Harvard Help and even the Volunteers Fair, which she conceived and coordinated. So being a selectman will enable her to build upon this great foundation of contributing to our town.
Marie’s personal connection to the schools, in combination with her deep financial expertise, her knowledge of all facets of our town, and her desire to move our town to financial sustainability without sacrificing the most critical needs for all our citizens, wins the day for me.
Pam Brown
Littleton Road
