Issue Position: Public Safety

Issue Position

My Moral Obligation
As an elected official the single greatest moral obligation is Public Safety.

In order to ensure the safest environment possible for our Citizens there are many factors that have to be continually monitored; Education, Economics, Fairness, Job creation and Greed.

Brockton has been a hot-bed for violence and lawlessness for many years. It has recently reached a critical point. Though our City leadership cared about this spike in violent crime they seemed handcuffed by a horrible economic climate. There was much talk but little action.

Mayor Carpenter, thinking out of the box, decided to be creative. He embarked on a crusade against crime during his campaign and brought to Brockton a true "Hercules" against crime, Chief Robert Hayden. After being elected he decided to replace a very popular and admirable Chief of Police with Chief Hayden who has had phenomenal success in developing and implementing Action plans that curbed crime in some of the worst crime-ridden communities in Massachusetts.

In a very short time (3 months) Chief Hayden's attitude and Action plans have rejuvenated a Police Department that while giving heroic efforts throughout, seemed to be swimming against the tide. Now there is renewed optimism in the department and throughout our Community.

A challenger of mine, Michelle Dubois, stood up and denounced Chief Hayden's appointment on the night of the initial council vote to appoint the Chief to the position of Commissioner for a one year term. This is counter-productive and a total disregard for the moral obligation that she and other councilors have as elected officials.

I am planning to draft legislation that addresses this critical issue.
Greed is the single most responsible factor in a violent and lawless society. It permeates every facet of our lives. It has reached unimaginable heights. Don't call it "human nature, I don't believe it is human nature. We need to become more compassionate and thoughtful as a society.
Our border communities should not get lulled into thinking that this wave of crime won't spread to their communities. It most certainly will. It cannot be contained, it has to be halted and beat back with Action. As the fortunes of Brockton go, so shall our surrounding towns. Yes, it will take work to make the bad guys go away and with Bob Hayden as our Commissioner I am confident that they will.

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