To the Editor:

With the upcoming election, I am throwing my support behind Don Blythe, a lifelong resident of Franklin.

First, he is the only candidate in my ward who has been in front of City Council month after month addressing concerns for our city.

He has pointed out our city’s shortcomings with SPSA, leading to one of the highest trash fees in the nation, and that our city is not very business friendly. He wants to hold our responsible city leaders accountable for their actions.

He believes in effective economic development, which should have started five years ago. Not with the recent closure of International Paper. Effective economic development will lead to more jobs in the area.

He believes in the path of continued cooperation between the city and county with shared jobs and services to eliminate duplication of expenses. He also believes and supports a strong police department that is necessary for the protection of our community as a whole.

Before we address raising property taxes to hire and train new police officers, we first need to address the problem of police retention for the last five years. We have been through 24 policemen in that span of time.

This to him throws up a red flag. How much have we spent during this time in recruiting and training to replace these officers?

He believes we could sure use the money saved for debt reduction, help with schools, or even hiring and keeping police officers without property tax increases.

These are the thoughts of a fresh new leader that can help us get through these next four challenging years.

Jennifer Bernocco

Franklin