GeorgetownToday!   Home of the free, because of the brave.     Last Updated: 5 May, 2009  

2009 Candidate Profile - Selectboard Candidate    2-year term

Note: "Unlike the Weekly FishWrap, we print what the candidates submit. No more, no less."

Andrew Ciano

My name is Andrew Ciano and I am running for the 2yr. term Selectman seat.

For those individuals who have not viewed the local cable station “Candidates Night” please check the schedule and try to set some time aside to view the show.  Most people will learn quite quickly where all the candidates stand after viewing.  For those who won’t have a chance to view the show I offer this information about where I stand with respect to the Selectman position.

I moved to Georgetown from a much larger city in Ca. about 3 ½ years ago.  I say that because I wanted to move back to the state that I grew up in and to a town that was much smaller in size.  Having two young children makes me more concerned about things like that.  At the time Georgetown had a reputation as a safe community that provided a quality education for the children. I suspect that many of the newer families, here in Georgetown, moved here for similar reasons. That means that we as town citizens have a vested interest in how the town is managed and that we are not just “passing through”. This is the type of community I not only want to be a part of but to contribute to as well.

My background is engineering.  I worked in the semiconductor industry for over 15 years and during that time I learned how to manage dept budgets and how to deal with the paradox of doing more with less.  It was also critical to make decisions in an objective manner.  To collect supportable data whenever possible and leave personal bias aside. Through these tough economic times (which will most likely last longer than anyone of us care for) we, as a town, are going to have to make many difficult decisions in order to adapt. My approach would be to help define the priorities and make these difficult decisions using sound, objective rationale.   

I am very concerned about our school system and that is a priority for me.  What ever I can do to help continue building a strong educational system for our children I am committed to.  Additionally I believe the town has done a good job supporting the local police and fire departments and I would like to continue that theme. As our revenue stream starts to constrict in 2010 we are going to experience the pressure of balancing services with limited revenue.  It is my position to approach this condition with a clear set of priorities.  I want to be up front and clear about what, I feel, those priorities should be.  That is why you will always hear me speak about our school, police and fire departments as the top three priorities during these stressed economic times.   That’s not to say that I would ignore any other key departments but instead set priorities so that decision making aligns properly with what the town perceives as “most important”.  These three priorities should be established to weather our near-term challenges.  Looking forward I believe it is imperative to have a long term strategy that includes a responsible growth plan.  I am in support of commercial and/or industrial growth within the town.  If we plan properly we can increase our tax base and not put undue burden on our infrastructure.  With most of the towns revenue coming from residential property tax it will only be a matter of time before the town finds itself in a situation where we cannot afford to keep the most basic of services funded.  The state funds we receive are being cut back and this fact requires that we get working right away on efforts to broaden our tax base.  I believe we can grow our commercial and/or industrial tax base without losing the small town appeal of Georgetown.