Dear Newburyport Voter:

My name is Ed Cameron and I live at 17 Oakland Street with my wife Susanne and our daughters Anna and Lucy.  First of all, I want to thank the voters of Ward 4 for electing me twice to the Newburyport City Council.

This election I am running for a seat as an At-Large Councillor.

With your input and guidance, I want to continue to focus on areas where local government can make a positive difference:

• City Infrastructure within the neighborhoods, on the waterfront, and downtown – I want to preserve what is good about Newburyport while we work together to reinvigorate local businesses and improve quality of life.  We need leadership that will ensure that private interests are valued but are not allowed to run rampant over public values. We have a long way to go to having the sidewalks, streets, and parks we need.
• Education – I want a community that can prepare our children for the future.  The City Council, the School Committee, and the Mayor need to demand excellence in our schools and to push for reforms and cost-efficiencies at all times - not just during budget crises.
• Municipal Reform – I want a local government that is effective and efficient; our current form of government with a two-year mayoral term is behind the times.  Therefore, I supported the creation of a charter review commission.  I also sponsored the legislation that implemented a more effective way to choose the leadership of our Public Safety Departments.
• Seniors - I want to help seniors and people of modest means stay in the community they have called home their entire lives.  After years of inaction, seniors deserve a Senior Center.  

I believe citizens are in charge and have the right to expect their elected representatives to translate their input into results.  The folks in Newburyport I find most inspiring, whether they’ve been here 70 years or 70 days, are the people who revere our history, and the lessons to be learned from that history, and are hopeful for the future, and all that could be in that future.  They are the ones who understand that our public discussions over development, parking, parks, taxes, bike lanes, education, senior centers, and all local issues great and small are what make a community vital. 

In my professional career, I've learned that sometimes the best solutions come from the most unlikely sources. We should look for the best ideas whether they come from the 'old boy network' or from the young family who just bought that condo around the corner.

If you have suggestions on how to make Newburyport a better place to live, please email me at edcameronNBPT@gmail.com, write to me at 17 Oakland St., or call me on my cell phone anytime at 978-518-0786.

Sincerely,

Ed Cameron

Associate Executive Director of Housing and Homeless Services

Director of Policy and Advocacy

Deputy and Acting Director

Supervisor, Paul Sullivan Housing Trust, August 1993 - August 1995 

Administrator, Men’s Unit, September 1990 - August 1993

Supervisor, Men’s Unit Day Shift, April 1989 - September 1990

Counselor, Men’s Unit, June 1987 - April 1989