POLITICAL NOTEBOOK: Bower Kicks Off Campaign

School Committee Chair  Mike Bower held a re-election campaign kick-off event on Monday March 7 at .

More than 100 guests joined Bower and his campaign committee during the course of the evening enjoying food and beverage and listening to a variety of speakers.

School Committee clerk Rick Finlay served as master of ceremonies for the speaking portion of the event.

Selectman Jason Smith and School Committee member Adam Blumer introduced the candidate and spoke of Bower's many contributions to the school system and the community at large.

Bower then took the stage wearing a green, Irish wool knit sweater and opened his remarks by saying “It’s appropriate that we gather at O’Connell’s Pub in this the month of Saint Patrick in support of a candidate whose great grandparents emigrated from County Mayo, Ireland to Haverhill Massachusetts a little more than 100 years ago.”

Bower went on to thank his School Committee colleagues for their efforts and support of him as a member of the committee.

“I have been extremely fortunate to work with such an outstanding group of School Committee members who bring a variety of talents and backgrounds to the committee.

Thank you for your tireless service to the young people of Framingham and for being such wonderful colleagues to me in that service over the past three years.” 

Bower went on to speak optimistically about the future for the Framingham Public Schools.

 “I truly believe we are turning a corner.  On a daily basis, we are seeing signs that indicate we are beginning to emerge from this period of economic difficulty. We are nearing the point when we can begin to stabilize the school system following several years of devastating reductions.  And yes, we may even begin to talk about rebuilding soon as well.  I believe that my 12 years of School Committee experience positions me quite well to be a productive part of such a renaissance.  We will need to be ever mindful during this rebuilding process of our obligation to make sure that what we do is sustainable over the long term, through whatever ups and downs we may face.  We should constantly be assessing the programs we offer to make sure they are still serving the purpose for which they were intended.  We should support those programs that meet this test and be willing to sunset those programs that do not. And of course, we must continuously be looking for new and innovative programs that have proven to be effective in preparing young people to become productive members of an ever changing global economy. This is the essence of a dynamic and evolving, forward looking school system.”

-- Submitted by the Committee to Elect Michael Bower