Mello Brings Deep Professional Experience
I am writing in full support of Natalie Mello as our next member of the Fairhaven Select Board.
Natalie brings deep professional experience in executive management from her years in higher education, on-the-ground experience from municipal board membership, and a fresh perspective on Fairhaven town politics.
She doesn’t come to the job with an agenda, a chosen side or alliance, or seeking a steppingstone to acclaim. To Natalie it is very clear that hot-button cultural issues do not affect how Fairhaven’s town services should support the needs of every resident while providing for sustainable growth. She understands the boundaries of the job description, and further that participation, advocacy, and regionalized efforts falling outside our town borders can be critical to effecting positive change.
Natalie recognizes all the wonderful things we already have in Fairhaven, and the passionate work so many individual citizens and staff members do to both sustain and improve the experience for us all. When funds are short, arguments abound — and just as in any family, they aren’t always about the money itself. It’s difficult to watch us fight over scraps and debate the best use of funds when we all just want what is best for everyone.
It’s time to take a breath.
Natalie Mello is deeply committed not only to working collaboratively with fellow members of the Select Board but also to joining with them to ally with other governing boards. We must stop dwelling on the contentions and conflicts of the past, take what we’ve learned, and commit to all that the future holds. No one person can save our future, but one person can help set the tone for a collective effort that advances our success. Natalie is that person.
It is time to start anew and recommit to moving Fairhaven and the lives of its residents into our next great chapter. Please join me in voting for Natalie Mello for Fairhaven Select Board on Monday, April 7.
Anne Morton Smith, Fairhaven
Ms. Morton Smith is a member of the Fairhaven Board of Public Works. Her views are her own, not the board’s.
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