Shaun Moriarty for Town Council

I was born and raised right here in Southbridge, a town my family first settled in almost 150 years ago. I attended the local public schools and graduated from Southbridge High School before going on to Fitchburg State University. I graduated cum laude with a degree in history with a concentration in secondary education.

For several years I worked locally with Stonebridge Press, primarily with its flagship publication, the Southbridge Evening News. During my time as Southbridge's lead reporter I worked hard to present readers with a straight, objective look at what was happening in their community. Covering the surrounding towns here and in Connecticut for The News and other publications, including my time as the editor of the Woodstock Villager, has allowed me the opportunity to see how different communities handle common issues, and what approaches have been met with the most success.

I have also worked hard for the community and its residents through my service with the Southbridge Little League. I've also created and helped lead fundraising endeavors for those in need — most notably Aislen Cipro, a local girl who has battled a rare childhood cancer for most of her young life.

As a cancer survivor myself, I have felt the great support this community can offer. I have always believed in giving back, giving of yourself, trying to leave something better than you found it.

I am running for Town Council not because of any one or two particular issues. I'm interested in working to move our town forward rather than spinning our wheels. I am running for Town Council because I no longer have any excuses not to.

My platform focuses on enhancing our quality of life today and tomorrow:

• I want to help make the town more proactive in dealing with problems while being reactive and responsive to the concerns of the citizens.
  
  
• I want to see new life breathed into downtown rather than continuing on with empty storefronts and businesses that come and go. I want to see locals take the initiatives to embody the entrepreneurial spirit that made Southbridge what it once was and could one day become again.
  
  
• I want to see the discourse of town government elevated beyond partisan politics, gamesmanship, brinkmanship, and petty bickering.
  
  
• I want to see taxpayers get the best bang for their buck possible, working to find creative solutions for the town to offer the greatest services possible for the least amount of money.
  
  
• I want to see more transparency in our town by providing residents the opportunity to learn and understand what town departments do, how they do it, why they do it, and what it costs them, while, in the process, looking for ways to provide services in the most efficient way we can.
  
  
• I want to see the schools become something that we can all take true "Pioneer Pride" in, rather than looking for ways out to other districts and private schools.
  
  
• I want Southbridge to become a place people and businesses want to move to, not a place at which neighboring communities can sneer.
  
  
• I want to be able to serve Southbridge by providing a common sense view, uninhibited by allegiances and alliances, making decisions that take into consideration not just this year, or the next election, but five years from now, ten years from now, and even further down the road.