A printed debate between Charles Bailey and Jeff Roy #6

Above: Jeff Roy and Charles Bailey.

Longtime Franklin-Medway Rep. Jeff Roy, a Franklin native, and his challenger Charles Bailey, also of Franklin, agreed to an in-person debate held Tuesday, Oct. 8, at Medway Middle School. co-sponsored by Democrats and Republicans

city ​​committees. The full debate can be viewed on Medway Cablechannel and in Franklin on Verizon 29 and Comcast 9. It can also be streamed on YouTube from Medway Cable’s Facebook page and Franklin’s All Access TV.

In addition, both candidates agreed to participate in a debate and respond to questions suggested by them observer Reader – in writing, in observer. A question and the candidate’s respective answers will be published a total of seven weeks before the election. The order of answers is changed each week (e.g. Roy first, then Bailey first and vice versa).

#6 – How do you feel about bringing someone else back?
Override vote in Franklin and why?

JEFFREY ROY

Concerned that his comments were altered by the removal of a graphic in a previous post, he has instead provided a link to his response to question 5 on his website (below) and has also asked the editor to acknowledge his own support for Mr. Bailey.

In fact, I, Editor Alan Earls, donated $150 as an individual to Mr. Bailey’s campaign. Additionally, I am the former Chairman of the Franklin Republican Town Committee and currently serve as Clerk/Secretary. This is and was an open secret. Many people in Franklin are aware of my political affiliation and I am happy to discuss it with anyone. I also always work to provide balanced coverage of the news in Franklin and Medway. As far as I know, no one in the local news media has asked for anyone else’s political disclosure, let alone at the state or national level. Maybe it’s time to make this practice universal.

Rep Roy’s answers to question 6 can now be found at the following link:

CHARLES BAILEY

This latest override has divided the city of Franklin and the period leading up to it was contentious for everyone involved. The will of the people was exercised in the special election on Tuesday, June 11, and ignoring the results of that vote would only cause further division.

How did we get here? Two years ago, the state had such a large tax surplus that refunds had to be paid back to the public in order to comply with our current law. Our legislature on Beacon Hill has been guilty of reckless spending, and it was inevitable that cities would eventually feel the burden. As a result, many cities have unsuccessfully attempted to override their own regulations.

Why wasn’t the override successful? People on both sides of the issue were quick to blame each other, when in reality it was a catastrophic failure of leadership by our city manager and city council. It is their responsibility to balance the budget. This is not an option but a requirement of the state. Rep. Roy even went so far as to support the pro-override group OneFranklin by donating $1,000.00 of his personal money. The optics of this apparent support for the group are troubling and thus send an ambiguous message to the people of Franklin. Surprisingly, 45% of Franklin’s 24,891 registered voters were present that day, and the override was defeated by just over 200 votes. This enormous voter turnout and the election result have a lot going for them. I believe a lack of trust in Franklin’s leadership contributed to the override’s failure.

What has been done since the overwrite failed? There has been no visible attempt to rein in spending since the June special election. It was business as usual, with no financial responsibility. Taxpayers were saddled with a $30,000 cost for a special election, and talks of another override vote in spring 2025 began immediately after that election failed.

What needs to happen before an override should be considered again? Our leadership must stop all unnecessary spending immediately. All wish lists need to be put on hold until we balance our budget. Let’s stop blaming teachers, our seniors, and each other. Student needs should be a priority in the school budget. The teachers are not the problem and they should feel safe having a job from one year to the next. I recommend a third-party audit of all expenses and systems to identify duplicate management roles or areas where technology could reduce redundancies. There must be complete transparency about all spending and clarity about where the money is being used.

It has been repeatedly reiterated that Franklin citizens care about a safe community and excellent public schools. Decisions must be made in the best interests of the entire community; not just those with the loudest voices. We must be respectful of our seniors and those living on fixed incomes. Their voice and their ability to pay the increased taxes matter. We should ensure that all resources are exhausted and all fats are eliminated from the budget before imposing any additional burden on our vulnerable population. It will take a lot of hard work to regain the trust of those who voted no, and I believe a change in leadership would be a good start.