A message from Holly:
“Did you know…
Why I decided to run for office
There are many reasons why I have decided to run this year. Over the next four weeks I will be presenting my platform and reasons for seeking the office of Selectman. Over the next four weeks I will be outlining what we had put in place before my opponent was elected, and what my opponent has dismantled.
We need to get back on track.
We need a board that will promote economic development and growth. We need economic growth to bring in tax revenue. We need to stabilize our tax base.
The last three years have shown a complete decline in economic growth. This decline is a direct result of my opponent’s poor decisions. Your tax bill increase by ~16% this year is a direct result of my opponent Allen Smith’s poor choices.
My opponent Allen Smith continues to believe that Somerset can keep slashing the budget to “cut” our way out of the hole that we are in. I’m here to tell you that he is wrong. We are already bare bones. The next thing that will be cut are our services: police, fire, highway, trash pickup. If it were up to Allen Smith, we would be left with nothing.
We cannot cut our way out of this. That is not how this works. We need to stabilize our tax base by bringing in more revenue, by promoting economic growth.
Some examples of what opponent Allen Smith has dismantled, and had cost the town $MILLIONS (I’ll be outlining these in more detail in the upcoming weeks):
* Got rid of our full time town planner (and grant writer)
* Got rid of our Police Chief who had a spotless record and had to pay two chief salaries
* Pushed out our building inspector
* Pushed out our Town Administrator and paid two Town Administrator salaries for more than a year
* Fought against a waterfront brewery/restaurant development (with boat access and walking paths) on land that was appraised at $1MILLION
* Delayed and is still delaying the development of Brayton Point, which pushes out the collection of tax revenue from what will be our biggest taxpayer
Somerset raised me. I left for Cornell University and then for UC San Diego for my masters in engineering. I’ve worked for Fortune 500 companies and I’ve lived in many places. Somerset will always be home.
When I first moved home, I organized the Raiders Remember event in the former high school building. I was reuniting with so many community members and meeting new ones. I listened to their concerns and fears. I initially ran because I wanted to use my expertise and bring what I had learned back home to help the community thrive. This motivation has not changed.
I resigned in 2021, one year short of my second term. Many may not have heard my resignation speech, or possibly don’t recall why I resigned:
* It had nothing to do with Allen Smith being the founder and president of Save Our Bay Brayton Point.
* It had nothing to do with Allen Smith as a person. I barely know him.
Why resign then?
* I was acutely aware of what Allen Smith and his colleague were about to dismantle, and I wanted no part of this.
* I ethically couldn’t sit with two board members that were about to ruin people’s livelihoods for their own agenda.
* It was much more effective for me to fight from the outside as a resident, since as a selectman, I would have been extremely restricted as to what I could say and do.
* I ethically couldn’t sit with two board members that were about to dismantle everything we had in place to protect the town.
We are on the verge of making strides but we have a person of division that creates division over and over and over again. When is it going to stop?
The bleeding will only stop when you elect me, Holly McNamara, for Selectman on April 8th. Our town depends on it.
I respectfully ask for your support on Monday April 8th.
Let’s get back on track!”