• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Environment/Sustainability
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • 2021 Town Election
  • Bulletin Board
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Meet Wellesley candidate for Board of Selectmen, Ron Alexander

March 9, 2020 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

The Town of Wellesley depends on the active participation of its citizens in governance of the Town. Wellesley has 11 Boards and Committees on the ballot at the Annual Town election each year in March. The 2020 election will be held on March 17.

Ron Alexander, Wellesley
Ron Alexander is running for a position on the Board of Selectmen.

Ron Alexander is running for a position on the Board of Selectmen. The BOS serves as the chief executive board of the Town, and as such, oversees all matters affecting the interest and welfare of the community. The 5-member Board exercises the authority vested in the Town not specifically assigned by law to any other board or office.

There are three candidates running for the two open 3-year positions. We invited the candidates to answer a few questions about their qualifications and priorities for the Town of Wellesley. Candidate Ron Alexander’s Q & A is below. Candidates Tom Ulfelder and Beth Sullivan Woods‘ Q & As will run in subsequent posts.

The Swellesley Report: Should it be Board of Selectmen or Select Board or something different?
Ron Alexander: Surely we have more important matters to deal with in Wellesley. Let’s leave it the way it is. Otherwise the Town will have to spend taxpayer dollars on new stationery, signage, web site changes, etc., etc., etc. It would also make searches on the Town website, Google, Wellesley Media Corporation, etc. more difficult, because a person looking for information would probably have to do multiple searches, one with the old name and then with the new name. This change would create more problems than it solves (see the Law of Unintended Consequences). It should stay as “Board of Selectmen”.

The Swellesley Report: What is your background and what qualifies you for this position?
Ron Alexander: 20-year resident of Wellesley, two years as Town Meeting Member. and diligent attendee and observer before that, expert in Robert’s Rules and Open Meeting Law, loud booming voice, and a keen nose for nonsense.

SR: If elected, what do you hope to accomplish during your three-year tenure on the Board of Selectmen?
Ron Alexander: We have serious problems with our Board of Selectmen…As a Board of Selectmen member, I will work to resolve these issues, find justice for the victims, and make sure that the Town does not have to pay the legal expenses of these scofflaws. After that, we will deal with the Superintendent of Schools, as well as other matters of dysfunction in the Wellesley Town Government.

SR: What is the most important issue in Wellesley right now? How should this issue be handled?
Ron Alexander: Corruption, plain and simple. It runs through the Board of Selectmen, School Committee, School Department, Town Counsel, Police, and likely other departments as well. The only way to handle it is to root it out and get rid of the perpetrators.

SR: What are your thoughts about changing the third Monday in October from Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day?


Ron Alexander: I was taught in elementary school that “Columbus Day” commemorated the discovery of The New World. Indigenous People had nothing to do with that. Frankly, Columbus himself had no idea that he had discovered a whole new pair of continents — he thought he was in China. The real hero is Amerigo Vespucci, after whom “America” is named. If we make any change regarding this day, it should be called something like “New World Day”, “Americas Day”, or “Vespucci Day”. That would be way more appropriate to the spirit and intent of the holiday.

SR: Your thoughts about the HHU project?
Ron Alexander: The options appear to be: 1) 2 schools for $75 million each, or 2) 3 schools for $50 million each. Both add up to $150 million, so the cost is not the issue. That brings into the discussion all the other factors such as redistricting, disruption of neighborhoods, loss of history, benefits of small schools vs. large schools, etc. Since there would be no cost savings to the two-school option, we should just rebuild all three schools. That will make everyone happy and we can finally stop having this conversation (and stop setting neighbor against neighbor as has been the play ever since this matter started).

SR: Is there anything else you would like to say that the above questions did not cover?
Ron Alexander: How much space you got? There are so many problems in this town it would take binders and binders and days and days to go over them. But I’ve already mentioned the Low Hanging Fruit above, so let’s deal with those issues first.

SR: How should voters reach you if they want more information?
Ron Alexander: Anyone is welcome to reach out to me at [email protected] I would be happy to discuss any of the above with anyone, or any other issues that someone may have.

print

Share

Filed Under: 2020 Town Election, Government

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Fran's Flowers
Clearhaven Recovery

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Admit Fit, Wellesley
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
The Moving-Pictures Company
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
covid vaccine
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Most Read Posts

  • Newton-Wellesley Orthopedic Walk-In—no appointment needed
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Bank branch to close; New bank coming to town, sort of; Celebrating women-owned businesses
  • Babson to the rescue: Survey seeks to get to bottom of Wellesley Square issues
  • Town mourns Wellesley High Building Manager Tom Zinck
  • Wellesley Police log: Suspected opiate overdose proves fatal; service dog calms child; man headed to court for unauthorized dumping

Events Calendar

« April 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
Tue 13

STEM panel discussion

April 13 @ 7:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Wed 14

Fairies, Frogs, and Damsels (online program)

April 14 @ 4:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Thu 15

Meeting and Discussion with 4th Congressional District U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss

April 15 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Thu 15

Wellesley’s Sustainable Mobility Plan online forum

April 15 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Thu 22

Ben Franklin, The Early Years: Wellesley Historical Society online lecture

April 22 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Pages

  • Guidelines for Letters to the Editor
  • How to submit your flyer for the Community Bulletin Board page
  • Wellesley Community Bulletin Board
  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Cynthia Kelly on Town mourns Wellesley High Building Manager Tom Zinck
  • Sue Morris on WHS senior scavenger hunt to blanket Wellesley
  • Michael Auclair on Town mourns Wellesley High Building Manager Tom Zinck
  • Kelley Downey on Wellesley Business Buzz: Bank branch to close; New bank coming to town, sort of; Celebrating women-owned businesses
  • MICHAEL GUARNIERI on Select Board makes Indigenous Peoples Day official in Wellesley

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (21)
  • Animals (387)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (544)
  • Beyond Wellesley (30)
  • Books (345)
  • Business (1,381)
  • Careers/jobs (45)
  • Churches (73)
  • Clubs (211)
  • Construction (281)
  • Dump (113)
  • Education (2,918)
    • Babson College (244)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (49)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (600)
    • Wellesley High School (895)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (52)
  • Entertainment (728)
  • Environment (679)
  • Fashion (134)
  • Finance (13)
  • Fire (144)
  • Food (328)
  • Fundraising (565)
  • Gardens (137)
  • Government (422)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (759)
    • COVID-19 (151)
  • History (360)
  • Holidays (367)
  • Houses (121)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (819)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (12)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (97)
  • Music (545)
  • Natick Report (28)
  • Neighbors (252)
  • Obituaries (62)
  • Outdoors (588)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (702)
    • Crime (356)
  • Politics (545)
  • Real estate (293)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (306)
  • Safety (143)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (111)
  • Shopping (123)
  • Sports (906)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (158)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (212)
  • Travel (12)
  • Uncategorized (1,212)
  • Volunteering (319)
  • Weather (168)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (259)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login