My official candidate’s announcement.
The Item recently ran my candidate’s announcement.
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I love that Clinton is a town with a proud history and I want to be sure its future is just as bright. That is why I’m running for Select Board.
My husband Chad and I bought our house on Cedar Street 15 years ago and we were new to town, but my family has long-standing roots here. My grandparents, parents, and sisters grew up in Clinton. My Sunday nights were spent enjoying family dinners and walking over the Dam before dessert. On summer days, I swam in my grandmother’s pool on Greeley Hill. I love that Clinton is a tight-knit community and I know what makes Clinton special — it’s the people who live and work here.
And these people have been hit hard by this pandemic and we are at a critical moment. It’s been a long year for local businesses, our schools, seniors, and our youth. No doubt there will need to be some tough decisions but I feel that dark times often bring great opportunity, too.
I’m already very involved in our community. I work with Discover Clinton, a non-profit group whose goal is to increase economic growth by promoting our great dining, shopping, arts, culture and recreation. I’m on the School Committee’s marketing subcommittee providing marketing and communications advice to help our schools better communicate with parents, students, teachers and local taxpayers. I’m on the Board of the Billy Winn Basketball Association and always advocating for girls in youth sports; a coach with Clinton Youth Soccer; and a frequent school volunteer. I’ve loved meeting new people this way.
Professionally, I’ve spent 20+ years in marketing and communications, many of them in residential and commercial real estate, where I’ve learned how to sell a town and its benefits. Currently, I work for a tech company that connects caregivers with people who need child, senior, pet, and home care. I know what families are up against. I live it every day at work and as a mom to two Middle Schoolers.
As for why I’m running, I feel that Clinton needs to continue to broaden our commercial and industrial tax base by creatively engaging in responsible development and leveraging our downtown’s new improvements. Strong towns have strong schools and we’ll need to determine what investments are needed to support our children and those who educate them. Preserving our financial health is also important so that town services continue to be reliable to all those who need them. In addition, improving town-to-citizen communications. Lastly, as a woman and a mom, I bring a different voice and perspective, which we need more of right now in town leadership.
I can promise that as a Select Board member, I will listen to you. It isn’t a board of 5 people who make a town great. It’s everyone who lives and works here. I want everyone to enjoy a great quality of life and be proud to call Clinton home. We’re all in this together. For more information, visit PerusseForClinton.com.
