Editor, The Smithfield Times:

My husband and I moved to Smithfield almost 10 years ago, partly because it so reminded me of the small town where I was raised in western Massachusetts. However, the last few years with our current Town Council, I have been seeing uncontrolled growth with no concern for the infrastructure.

I was one of many town residents who attended the Town Council meeting to speak against the Mallory Scott Farm project, where their original approval of 275 homes back in 2008 was more than tripled to over 800 homes. We all felt like most of the Town Council didn’t care how the citizens felt about this project. Mike Smith and Wayne Hall voted NO, but the rest of them pushed it through.

There is a lack of transparency with the current council. More and more special use permits are being approved, which is quickly changing Smithfield as we know it.

For these reasons, I am fully supporting the four candidates endorsed by Citizens for Responsible Leadership: Mike Smith, Darren Cutler, Bill Harris and Mary Ellen Bebermeyer. I have attended two meet-and-greet sessions with them to hear what they’re for and what they’re against, and I believe they will start to bring back Smithfield’s small-town charm. These candidates are for open communication with citizens, responsible development and supporting small businesses in town. We’ve had enough out-of-town developers with huge projects that we can’t support.

The meet-and-greet sessions are being held all over town, and I strongly urge everyone to take the time to attend one of them. I’m certain you will then feel comfortable voting for these four candidates. If you’d like to find out where the next meet-and-greet will be, you can search Facebook for “Candidates for Responsible Leadership” or send an email to CRLSmithfield@proton.me to be added to their distribution list.

 

Ginny Soule

Smithfield