A STATEMENT FROM DENISE DEMEDEIROS, CANDIDATE FOR TOWN COUNCIL

I'd like to start off by thanking the citizens of Tiverton for allowing me to serve the town for 10 years in a public office. The last 2 as a town council member.  In the last 2 years I have gained value experience and would like to use this experience to continue to move Tiverton forward.  

As a council we have had some difficult decisions to make and it has not always been easy.  I do fell that every decision has been made in the best interest of the town.  Sometimes on the outside looking in it may be difficult to always understand the decision and we have been criticized for some of them recently.   Every decision I have made has been has been well thought out.  As far as the decisions made surrounding the town administrator and maintenance director I am confident that these decisions were in the best interest of Tiverton with the less negative impact as possible. 

With that said one of my goals this next term is to work well with everyone in town which has always been a goal for me.  The key word is respect.  We have to respect people who have different opinions then we do without taking it personally.  Name calling and misrepresenting facts is not the answer.  It causes a divide in the community and it is difficult to move on and get anything done.  At the end of the day Tiverton needs to move forward not backwards.  If all this energy was used to compromise and find solutions Tiverton would be better for it. 

The most important issue facing our community at this time is the tax rate. Fiscal responsible budgeting and increasing the tax base are two of the solutions. Endless hours were spent this year going thru every item  of the budget trying to find cuts we could make but still continue services.  I think this council did a diligent job and I will continue the same process if elected.  

As we all know we need economic development in town to help relieve the tax burden. Listening to all involved and trying to find the right fit for the commercial areas in town taking into consideration the opinions of the surrounding neighborhoods is important.  I think compromise is important not only for the community but for the prospective developers.  It can be done with a lot of hard work and some creative thinking.  We have to work on trying to decrease the impact on the community as much as possible and maintain the quality of life we all enjoy!

Denise deMedeiros

Candidate for Tiverton Town Council